I Didn't Wish for This!
by HerOverYonder
Summary: When she wished for things to be different, she didn't wish to be put in a world other than her own. Even worse than that, she's now stuck living in the "Ouran-verse" until the world is reset when the plot ends. Between body-snatching and voluntarily becoming a maid for the infamous Host Club, what's a girl to do?
1. Mistaken Identity

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter One: Mistaken Identity

* * *

"We don't have the money for you to be wasting your paychecks at auctions!"

"I work hard for my earnings. I don't see you putting in any extra hours."

"How would you know? You're never home!"

 _*Slide. Slide. Click.*_

"Hah…" Aside from the cicadas, the only other sound in the backyard was her own sigh. She expected it to happen tonight, but she didn't expect them to begin fighting before she finished eating.

They usually fought in private, but this time, she guessed her mother had been very irritated with whatever she saw when she opened up one of many bills they were forever stuck paying.

She hopped off the deck and shuffled over to the giant tree at the edge of the yard. Quickly, she squeezed as much of herself as she could into the tire swing. Of course, this caused her to feel highly uncomfortable with her knees digging into her breasts and her back burning in protest.

She was too tall and too heavy to sit comfortably in the tire.

Looking through the leaves, she could see everything the night sky had to offer, save for a few clouds. For a while, she sat there and immersed herself in the night sounds. Nothing relaxed her more than the sound of the night (well, that and taking a scented bath).

"I wish things were different." She murmured, opening her eyes and pulling her legs out of the tire. They tingle for a minute before she hopped out of the tire. She glanced up at the moon. "I wish they would fight when I'm not here." She sighed again and decided to take the hard way to get back to her room.

Using the porch banister as a means of height, she extended her arms up and placed her hands on the lower roof. Prepping herself by doing several small hops, she hoisted herself up onto the roof and crawled over to her window. She pulled it up and slipped inside, flopping onto her bed as soon as the lower half of her legs made it through.

She didn't hear her parents clearly, but she did know they were still arguing, perhaps this time using their inside voices.

The girl raked her dark hair out of her face and pulled out a pair of pajama shorts from her dresser. She scurried to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and hair, and then went back to her room to sleep.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

When she woke up, she knew something wasn't right.

She didn't feel good, for one, and two, she woke up in an unfamiliar room.

Her stomach churned violently, and she covered her mouth to keep what was coming up inside. Springing from the bed, she felt her body running towards a bathroom. How she knew where it was located was a mystery, but at least she made it to the toilet before she ruined someone's floor with vomit.

"Gah," She coughed from the burn at the back of her throat. Shakily, she grabbed some toilet paper and wiped her mouth.

 _*Flush.*_

She staggered over to the sink to brush her teeth. As soon as she spat the taste of mint out of her mouth, she stuck her head under the faucet and lapped up some of the water to rinse the remaining foam out. When she lifted her head to look into the mirror, she choked.

No wonder she felt so out-of-body—the body she was in wasn't even hers!

Parted directly in the middle, her pin straight hair was brushed neatly and evenly over her shoulders. Her eyes were bigger than usual and possessed a dark aquamarine tint. Her skin was flawless—not a single blemish or scar _anywhere_.

The worst part of it all?

She didn't even have body hair.

Even though she was freaked out, she didn't feel as out of place as she could have been. The body shape was the one thing she related to the most. It seemed like she was rather tall (maybe a little taller than 170 centimeters, the girl's normal height) and had a good portion of extra weight on her.

Whoever this 'girl' was, her body was very pretty.

She began to wander back to the bedroom. Taking notice of her surroundings, she noted that the hallway, as well as the windows, were very tall and gave off a vibe of being a little more luxurious and pricey than what she was used to.

There was someone sitting on the edge of the bed when she walked in.

"Um…" She mumbled, wondering if she had wandered into the wrong room.

"Hello there~!" The person cooed, wiggling her fingers at the girl. "I see you've made yourself comfortable in your new body?"

"What?"

The person stood from the bed. "Your new body. Do you like it?" They asked, taking one side of the girl's hair and lifting it up only to drop it back into place.

"I don't understand…" The girl looked at the person in confusion. Even though they were right in front of her, all she could see was the silhouette of the person, aside from the glint of pearly white teeth when they opened their mouth.

"You wished for this, didn't you?"

The girl thought back. She didn't remember wishing to look any different.

"I never wished for a new body."

The person stood rigidly. "You…didn't wish for…" Suddenly, the silhouette faded and in its place was a tall female with chocolatey skin, wavy dark blue hair that reached the floor, silver eyes, and a larger than normal pair of breasts, all clad in a too small toga that left little to the imagination. The woman looked at the girl. "Isn't your name Alex Jones?"

The girl furrowed her brows. "No?"

"NO?!" The woman shouted in confusion.

"My name is Alexae Jones… Some people call me Alex, but I hate that." The girl explained, rocking back on her heels and then forwards onto her toes before repeating.

"Oops…"

"So am I going to wake up from this dream soon?"

The woman laughed nervously. "Well… not exactly…"

Alexae stopped rocking. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean," she began, wondering if she should even try explaining the mess she had just created, "you are kind of stuck here until I can get you out. But don't worry! I'm sure I can have this fixed by sunrise!" The woman grabbed Alexae's shoulders and practically threw her into the bed. "You just sleep and when you wake up, you'll be back in your own reality!"

Not sure what she meant by that, Alexae decided to abide by the woman's suggestion and sleep.

She would wake up in the morning and be back in her own house, her mother making a poorly executed breakfast from the previous night's frustrations and her father missing from spending yet another night out away from his confrontational wife.

She expected everything to go back to her version of normal.

She was not expecting to wake up in the same strange room by the same strange woman uttering thousands of apologies to her about not being able to 'send her back' because she 'held no power in this world until it was over'.

"Wait, slow down, what's going on?" Alexae asked, still half asleep and confused by what she thought was just a crazy dream.

"I accidentally brought you to another world and now I'm not allowed to fix this until it's over."

"What world?"

"The Ouran-verse."

* * *

 **/-/-/Intermission\\-\\-\**

* * *

"The Ouran-verse?" Alexae tilted her head.

The woman nodded. "Yes. Do you not know it?"

"It sounds familiar."

The woman brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "Let me try and explain what kind of situation you're in right now." She cleared her throat. "I am Nova, a Goddess of Miracles. I'm in the department of making or breaking wishes. I was assigned to one Alex Jones. I mistook you for my actual assignment, which was to grant the girl the wish to appear in this world." She explained.

"But I didn't wish to be in this world." Alexae retorted, her eyebrows knitted together sternly.

"Yes, I'm aware of that, but at the time I assumed your wish for something different meant _this._ " Nova gestured around her. "I mean, _technically_ your parents aren't fighting with you there because you're not there, but they also don't exist in this world… so I fulfilled your wish requirements!" Nova said enthusiastically.

"That still doesn't quite explain why I'm stuck here."

"I was getting to that." Nova walked forward, the folds of the toga sliding on her dark skin as she did so. "The rules of completing a wish like this are a little finicky, and I've never personally done this before, so I didn't know that you had to actually _finish_ the timeline before you can take your wisher back.

"So, until you die—which is highly unlikely in this world because this is a romantic comedy—or the timeline runs its course, you're more or less forced to live in this world." Nova turned with a triumphant smile. "It's not that bad though, because I hooked you up with an easy life!" She held out her hand to show the girl a purple orb. " _This_ is everything your body has gone through thus far. Think of them like personal memories instilled in you and those connected directly to her, like parents and friends."

She blew on the orb and it split into five pieces, one of them flying directly into Alexae's chest while the others disappeared in different directions.

A flood of memories quite literally flashed before Alexae's eyes.

Her name was Nanako Morikawa. Her mother, Marise Sando, was a famous actress. Her father, Keichi Morikawa, ran a successful record label. She had a friend named Mei Mirashiro, the daughter of a video game company, who she met with regularly every other Sunday (they apparently went to different schools). There was also one other person who showed up in the blurb of memories, a boy by the name Izumi Kibe, who took the role of her childhood friend.

"You're lucky I didn't drop you off and leave you alone like my associates do. I take care of my wishers, unlike a vast majority of them." Nova sat down on the edge of the bed.

Nanako rubbed her burning chest. "What happens when they do that?"

Nova visibly shivered. "When the God or Goddess leaves them alone, the wisher gets to create themselves instead of having a stable life created for them. In this case, the world gets swamped with people who are ' _perfect in every way'_ or _'depressed and need love'_ and sometimes even complete the look with dead parents. They become what most of us call ' _Mary Sue's'_. Monsters, really." Nova sighed. "It's also a good thing this world resets itself, otherwise you wouldn't get anywhere near the plot."

Nanako hummed. "So, are there other real people here?"

Nova closed her eyes. "Not at this moment, no. Believe it or not, this world isn't too popular at this time. Plus, this world isn't too bad! It's peaceful and doesn't involve people getting murdered!" Nova flopped back on the bed, her breasts giggling at the impact. "Enjoy it while you can. Make some friends. Meet some people. Do all the things you can't do in the real world because this is the only chance you'll get."

"What if I want to stay?"

Nova looked at Nanako. "I don't know. It's never been done before." Her head turned towards the clock. "You should probably get ready for school. Your journey should begin today, or at least should get you accustomed to the world before starting the plot."

Nanako crawled out of the bed and let her body get ready to go to school. She donned a yellow dress and white tights before slipping on a pair of black flats.

Nova silently floated around behind her, observing Nanako's everyday routine and occasionally playing with the girl's golden brown hair.

When Nanako entered the dining room, several maids were already working on the surrounding area, each of them greeting her with an enthusiastic, "Good morning, Nanako-sama," to which the girl smiled back and greeted them back with their respective names.

It seemed to please them to know they were being acknowledged as real people. She was seated and presented a simple meal consisting of toast, an omelet with several vegetables in bowls off to the side as well as tea.

It felt completely normal to eat this, even though having vegetables for breakfast was kind of weird to think about. Maybe it was just a taste 'Nanako' had.

Nova, at that point, had taken an orange from the kitchen and returned to stand next to Nanako. Seeing the girls concern, she dropped the orange peel on the table and said, "Only the wisher can see me. No one else knows I exist."

Nanako nodded, stuffing her mouth with the buttered toast.

It took twenty minutes for her driver to get her to the school. She thanked him and began to make her way through the ornate gates of the school. The architecture of the school was nothing like she imagined in her head. Having watched only a handful of different anime, she expected it to be the typical three story school painted white and rather small in campus size, but _this_ school…

Nova informed her that it was a school made for those with high social standing and wealth. She also informed her that the school type she was thinking of _did_ exist in this world, but it wasn't one she was ever going to use.

"Those schools are made for the middle class. They're good school, but _this_ school as well as the one your friend attends have extremely pricey tuition prices, so middle class and below cannot attend unless they're on a scholarship."

Nova knew a lot about this world even though she said she was never in it. Nanako did mention this, and the woman in question replied, "I said I've never taken someone to another world, not that I know nothing about it. In my subsection of the department, we spend hours studying every single anime there has and will be known to man for this reason. I have extensive knowledge on many subjects."

As Nanako approached the open doors, she glanced up at the sign telling her what classroom it was.

 _1-A._

"There are three main characters inside this classroom."

 _Thank you, Nova._

As soon as she walked through the door she bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry." "Sorry."

The two spoke at the same time. The person she had run into had unkempt short brown hair, and large glasses that took attention away from their brown eyes. Instead of the uniform Nanako saw every boy wearing, this boy (they looked like a boy to her) wore black pants and a baggy brown sweater.

Whoever they were, they seemed to want to not draw attention to themselves, but with the lack of the uniform, it was hard _not_ to notice him.

The boy took off in a hurry down the hallway. "Maybe he forgot something in his locker?" Nanako murmured to herself before heading over to her seat in the back of the room.

"Well, that was one of them." Nova pointed out as she began playing with her wisher's hair. "And the other two are the twins sitting two rows ahead of you."

Nanako eyed the ginger haired twins. They seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place her finger on what caused the feeling.

Class started just as the sweater-wearing boy jogged back into the classroom. Attendance was taken while students lightly chatted with each other, and after a few announcements and a small ten-minute break where some students left and new ones entered, the first class began.

It was mathematics, and Nanako didn't do her homework.

* * *

 **Hello, reader! Welcome to a story I'm calling _I Didn't Wish for This!_**

 **I'm very excited to bring this story to you all after not doing anything on fanfiction for _so_ long! In case you are wondering, I have written plenty of stories before (even though my profile only shows two), so this is not my first story. I've learned my way around the fanfiction-verse _and_ around what I call the Ouran-verse.**

 **I try to keep my stories realistic, and I'm sure you can tell by the way its written that this isn't going to be your typical Ouran fic. My chapters are generally going to all be over 2000 words (this one had around 2600, I believe), so they're pretty reasonable to read. I don't see my main character [Alexae/Nanako] as a Mary-Sue or ever going to be that monster, but if she ever gets a little _too_ cringy, let me know and I'll double check to make sure I didn't commit that sin. Nova is more or less going to be Nanako's comic relief and shouldn't be in the way; after all, Nanako _is_ the one forced to become one with the plot. I hope you can learn to like both characters because I enjoy writing them.**

 **Currently, I'm not planning to have my OC hook up with anyone, but I do have a soft spot for Kaoru, so if this story is going to have any romance aside from friendship, it will most likely be with Kaoru.**

 **I'm so very thankful to you for finding interest in this story. It really means a lot that you read it and enjoyed it (or didn't enjoy it), so it would be even better to tell me how I'm doing or how you liked the chapter by leaving a review. You don't have to, but I'd like to see if it's doing alright.**

 **In any case, I'm going to keep this authors note brief and end it here. I hope my note gave enough information about myself and my plan for the story, but if it didn't and you would like clarification, feel free to PM me and I will do my best to answer any questions you may have!**

 **I will see you all next Saturday!**


	2. Welcome to the Reverse Harem!

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Two: Welcome to the Reverse Harem!

* * *

 _Italicized text_ = Usually represents Nanako's thoughts/Nanako speaking to Nova

* * *

Apparently the only homework the real Nanako _did_ do the previous night was a paper on Poland's disappearing/reappearing act through history for World Studies, the final class of the day. When the class was over, she headed back to her homeroom classroom to finish out the end of the day (a fact she didn't know until Nova had mentioned it to her during lunch.

Japanese schooling was _extremely_ different from American schooling.

As soon as the final bell rung at 3:45, she began gathering her things and putting whatever she didn't need in her desk.

Luckily, the only homework she had to finish was another few pages in a math exercise book and finished a packet for English. Surprisingly, both classes were fairly easy unlike the others.

"Okay, so I'm not exactly sure when the plot begins because the first instance of it starting is related to the gi—boy you ran into earlier… but it seems like he's going home for the day." Nova pointed out as she floated several feet above Nanako's head, resting peacefully on a cloud that she had conjured up sometime after lunch.

 _Does that mean I can go home for the day, or…?_

"Maybe you should take a walk around the school to see what kinds of things happen after hours. Meanwhile I'll follow the boy and if the plot begins, I'll drop you right into it. How does that sound?" Nova asked

 _I suppose I can go to the library or something… that should give me enough time to finish this homework…_

"Great, then I'll leave you to it! If you get lost, just let your body guide you. It knows these halls better than you do!" And with that, Nova floated out after the scholarship student.

It didn't take long before Nanako got lost, although it wasn't a shock because the school was massive. There were too many ways to go and too little signage telling her what classrooms are where. It took a minute or two for her to let her body do the walking, but once it was on its way, she couldn't figure out how to redirect it.

She went to the nearest library, which happened to be the fourth and final library in the high school division of the school.

As soon as she walked in, she was immediately bombarded with chatter that was a little too loud for a library setting. Something in her gut told her that the other three would be just as loud, if not louder. Unfortunately, Nanako couldn't find it in her to be able to study with the commotion going on around her, so she closed the door and sighed.

"Is it noisy in there too?"

Nanako's dark eyes immediately spotted the much shorter teen looking up at her, even though she couldn't see through the glare of the sun on the boy's glasses.

"Extremely." She replied.

The boy sighed. "I don't understand how all four library rooms are so noisy." He murmured, slowly walking passed her.

Nova, who had been hovering above the two, suddenly threw something at the back of Nanako's head. Said girl glared at her.

"Here's your chance to get involved in the plot. Don't ruin it!"

Nanako thought about it for a moment. It seemed like her only option was to get involved in the plot, but could she just ignore it and go on with the life she had begun?

The boy was growing farther in distance as she contemplated her options.

Suddenly, her voice erupted from her throat as her feet began to carry her towards the boy. "Hey, wait!" The boy had stopped as soon as he heard her call.

"Is there any other place to study?" She asked.

"I think there's an unused music room. I was going to study by myself, but since we're in a few classes together, I wouldn't mind having someone to study with." The boy replied.

Nanako felt herself smile. "I wouldn't mind either. I know there are a few things I didn't quite understand in physics… could you help me with that?"

The boy nodded. "I'm not the best, but I did understand today's notes."

Nova watched as the two began to chat easily about the concepts discussed that day in the class. "You didn't introduce yourself!" Nova pointed out as she floated after the two.

Nanako, after finding an appropriate pause in the conversation, introduced herself and learned that her study partner's name was Haruhi Fujioka.

They had hoped for peace and quiet as they reached the door to the third music room; however, fate had different plans in store for them.

"Welcome."

A chorus of voices echoed in their ears as they opened the door and saw what they would soon come to know as the Host Club.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

 _Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

It was 4:12 in the afternoon [*]. The ticking of the clock was the only sound in the room for a moment as the study partners stared at the groups with very different expressions.

While the boy seemed extremely freaked out and plastered himself to the door in shock, the girl couldn't help but tilt her head and feel as if she had seen this all before somewhere.

Whatever it was, the feeling quickly faded as the plot began to roll forward.

"H-Host Club?" Haruhi began to feel around for a door handle that he just couldn't seem to find to save his life.

"Oh, there's a boy." The ginger haired twins from their class stared at Haruhi with disinterest.

"Hikaru and Kaoru, these visitors are in the same class as you, right?" A tall boy with glasses turned his head towards the two in question.

Nanako could hear a barely audible beeping noise.

"Yes, but they're not very sociable, so we don't know them too well." The twins answered simultaneously.

Nanako couldn't disagree with them. No one seemed to acknowledge her existence throughout the day other than teachers and the boy she was standing with. It was weird to her. Of course, she wasn't social in reality, but seeing everyone else talk to each other made her feel left out of the loop despite being wealthy. Haruhi didn't seem to speak with anyone either, at least in the classes they had together. He seemed more like the studious bookwork kind of guy, which was probably the only thing he _could_ do since he was here on an academic scholarship.

If he didn't stay at the top of the class, he wouldn't get to keep his scholarship and he wouldn't be able to attend Ouran anymore.

The things you learn by briefly talking with him (and Nova informing her all about his situation out of boredom during her classes).

"It's impolite to say it like that." The black-haired teen with glasses smiled at them—a smile Nanako could tell was artificial. "Welcome to the Ouran Host Club."

"Wait! Are you the exceptionally rare honor student we've heard about, Haruhi Fujioka?" Nanako jerked her thumb at her partner to avert the attention of the blue-eyed teen sitting in the chair.

Haruhi, who had been struggling to open the door, turned back towards the group slowly. "How do you know my name?"

Nanako could still hear the beeping.

Nova was nowhere to be found.

"It's just that our school tradition makes it difficult for commoners to get in." Haruhi's eyebrow began to twitch as soon as 'commoner' registered in her ears. "I've been told that unless you possess a rather audacious nerve, you can't receive a scholarship here."

It was actually a relief that they were more focused on the honor student than they were Nanako. Of course, she knew that if she moved she would gain the attention of them again and then be forced to introduce herself or worse have the boy with the glasses introduce her _for_ her.

She stood quietly, her eyebrow beginning to twitch as the incessant beeping continued to ring in her ears.

"Yes! He's saying that you are a hero, Fujioka-kun!" The blue-eyed boy placed a hand on Haruhi's slumped shoulders. "Even though you might be at the head of the class, you are still the poorest person in the school."

Haruhi shuffled away from him, but he followed.

"Maybe you lowly people are looked down upon."

"No, I wouldn't necessarily go _that_ far." Haruhi shuffled back passed Nanako, giving the girl a brief glance before continuing to escape the other boy.

"It doesn't matter, does it? Long live the poor!" The blue-eyed boy flung his hand away from him and Nanako could've _sworn_ she saw sparkles in the air around him. "Welcome to the world of beauty, poor man!"

Haruhi began to walk towards the door. Nanako's leg barely began to move before Haruhi was pulled back father into the room.

"Hey, Haru-chan! You're a hero? That's so cool!" The smallest boy, who probably stood at Nanako's breasts, had Haruhi by the arm.

"I'm not a hero, I'm just an honor student… And who gave you permission to call me Haru-chan?!" Haruhi yelled, shocking the young boy and bringing him to tears.

"Still, to think that suck a fabled, erudite student would be so openly gay." Blue-eyes tapped his chin.

Nanako's face rapidly turned red in an attempt to keep herself from laughing.

"Gay?" Haruhi asked the girl, but noticing her face, the boy knew he wasn't going to get an answer.

After a brief list of Host Types, Haruhi began to back away from the crazy group. He just wanted a place to study, was that too much to ask?

"It's not like that!"

The beeping got louder.

"I was just looking for a quiet place where I could study with Morikawa-san!" As soon as her name was mentioned, all of the members' heads, aside from the blue-eyed boy's, turned towards the golden brown haired girl.

They all had looks that told her they had briefly forgotten she was in the room.

"Or maybe you're into someone like me? How about it?" Blue-eyes lifted Haruhi's chin and proceeded to stroke it. This absolutely _freaked_ out Haruhi and send him reeling back into a stand that held a very ornate looking vase.

The beeping stopped.

Nanako felt herself running for the falling vase. Haruhi had turned around and attempted to grab the handle, but it just barely missed his fingertips. His eyes widened in horror as he realized this vase was going to break if Nanako didn't manage to catch it.

He prayed she would.

It all happened slowly.

Nanako dived to the floor, her hands outstretched for the vase as it grew dangerously close to the floor. Her eyes didn't leave the object for a second as she hit the floor and began to slide towards it. She put her arms closer together on the off chance she slid too far and didn't catch it with her hands that it would have a little cushion if it hit her arm.

After one long second, there was no shattering sound. No one breathed as they realized that Nanako had miraculously saved the vase from its impending doom _and_ Haruhi from having the pay it back.

The girl stood up carefully, her hands clutching the handles and her arms now wrapped securely around it. Her heard raced. She honestly didn't think she was going to make it, but she was thankful she did.

"Wow." Haruhi found himself muttering as the light clink of the object on the podium allowed the others in the room to finally let out the breaths they had been holding.

Nanako cleared her throat and bowed. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner. My name is Nanako Morikawa. It is a pleasure to meet you all."

She stood tall.

Then…

 _Smash!_

The vase, right after being saved, had fallen off the podium somehow and shattered on the ground.

The mysterious 'somehow' was actually Nova who was readjusting herself from hip-bumping the podium. "Sorry, that was a _major_ plot device that could not be changed."

To make a long story short, Haruhi, who had inflicted the first scare on the vase, was to serve as the Host Club's errand boy for an undetermined amount of time until he could pay 4 million yen. Nanako, who was the savior but apparently the one to accidentally bump the podium and send the vase to the floor the second time, was now asked to pay 4 million yen to cover her half of the vase incident—a 4 million she didn't seem to have or want to ask either of her parents for.

To her dismay, the only amount of money she had on her was 20,000 yen [*], which was only a fraction of the cost she would have to pay. So, even though she wasn't thrilled by the idea, she offered to work for the rest of her half.

She didn't want to make a bad impression on the only person who seemed to notice her (he didn't seem to like rich people all that much, which was understandable; she didn't like them that much either), so she put aside her wealth and decided that she wouldn't let her new friend work himself to death to pay back a ludicrous amount of money all by himself.

It just didn't seem fair.

And so, this was how Nanako Morikawa became the one and only maid of the host club.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

[*] _4:12 in the afternoon –_ In the first episode of the anime, just after the episode title announcement, the clock ticks by showing that it's 3:12 in the afternoon. Realistically, Japanese high schools are in session until 3:45 pm. They have their final homeroom from 3:30 to 3:45, and I'm assuming that the Host club would start services promptly at 4:15 and run until 5:30 (or 5:45) because the school closes its gates at 6 in every other season aside from winter (where it closes at 4). This would give them enough time to gather their belongings, take the long walk to the club room (it's a massive school), have time to set up and prepare themselves for the ladies, and then have and hour and a half to do rotations and get through most or all of the women who come to the club (which there are _many_ ). I didn't want to cause any confusion if anyone was that meticulous about details.

[*] _20,000 Yen -_ Just under 200 USD. Nanako's parents aren't home enough to give her enough proper cash, and when she does receive said cash, she gets it in small increments because her parents keep all of their earnings for themselves (after paying bills, of course). Her parents are so absorbed in their work lives that they forget they have a child. It also adds to the situation because Nanako doesn't speak to them regularly or cause any disturbances for them to notice. They all go on about their own ways and _rarely_ cross paths. Of course, Alexae, knows this since she gained all of the memories of the body when she "checked in". I wouldn't say she's enthusiastic about it, but she won't complain about it. She's thankful they don't squabble over everything like her parents did.

* * *

 **Hello again everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful day.**

 **Saturday really crept up on me! I need to keep writing chapters. I'm ahead of this chapter by a half, and I _really_ need to write the next few before next week so I stay ahead of the game.**

 **I'm lucky I had written two chapters...**

 **In any case, I hope you enjoyed the first part of episode one! I'm really excited to keep going because while it is mainly a retelling, I really enjoy Nanako as a character and what she can bring to the club. It'll be a good time, I promise.**

 **Thank you to those who reviewed as well to those who actually read the chapter. It's nice to know that there are people who are enjoying my twist on the typical "girl-gets-dropped-into-the-world" and I really hope you continue to enjoy this story.  
**

 **Drop me a review to tell me how you like it. I'd like to know I'm doing alright.**

 **I'll see you all next Saturday!**

 **P.S. Remember to read the extra-notes at the end of the chapter because it goes into a little more detail on things that might not be so clear, but also about Nanako's life.**


	3. Duties of the Maid

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Three: Duties of the Maid

* * *

 _Italicized text_ = Usually represents Nanako's thoughts/Nanako speaking to Nova

* * *

"Ah, this is the life."

Nova moved her legs on her marble lounge and took another grape from the bowl her shirtless mannequin was holding out to her.

"The breeze of the fan, the sweet tartness of the grapes, the handsome men…" Nova's hands found their way up to her face. "This is _perfect!_ " She squealed, her blue hair curling around her.

"Are you going to hover over me for the entire duration of this world or will I ever get a break from you?" Came a snarky voice from behind the pink curtains of the dressing room.

Nova frowned. "You don't have to be so rude about it. I happen to think I'm amazing company!"

"I would beg to differ."

Nova made a whining noise before stuffing her face with grapes. "I wasn't expecting you to be this mean. You seemed so nice before!"

Nanako scoffed. "That was before I realized how long I would have to spend with you." In fact, she had been with Nova for a little over a week now, and she had been with the Host Club and its many clients for just under that time.

She expected the girls who attended the club to sound snottier than they actually turned out to be. Surprisingly, all the girls she had encountered thus far were nice and usually chatted over a variety of topics ranging from pop culture to what types of food they liked to eat in the spring.

Astonishingly, the girls had also been accepting at the fact that she was (more or less) a member of the host club—not as a host, but as the maid.

Nanako expected them to have a hard time swallowing that fact, but they didn't seem to mind.

Even better, some of the girls began to greet her before classes, which was nice. She would've never guessed she would be so thankful to hear someone greeting her until she spent an entire week without anyone noticing her.

Sliding the curtain aside, Nanako stepped out from the changing room and brushed down the apron of her new uniform: a short sleeved baby pink dress that stopped just above her knees, an apron tied around her waist with a red ribbon complete with the signature maid headband. She was embarrassed wearing the outfit the first day, but after many compliments from the girls on how cute the outfit was, she felt better putting it on each day.

She would've felt _more_ comfortable had Haruhi been here to give her a pep-talk like he always did before the day started, but they had send him on an errand run shortly after entering the room today. Nanako had offered to go with, but Kyoya (the vice-president who was more like the _actual_ president of the club) had asked her to stay, saying that her time was better spend helping prepare for the day's activities.

And by asked, she meant told her to stay.

If she were honest, she would say that he scared her a little.

"I'll be going now," Nanako said blandly as she readjusted the items on her cart.

"Have fun!" Nova yelled just before the door closed behind her wisher. "She's not going to enjoy this world as much as I want her to if she keeps that attitude." She muttered.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

It took a little bit to make it to all the tables, but once she had filled up all the teacups she possibly could with Rose Tea, she started to make her way back through and remove any lingering plates as well as hand out new plates of varying foods.

"—Host Club was keeping a little kitten without a pedigree."

Nanako felt her ears perk up. Even though she was a few tables away, she could tell the owner of the voice wasn't very nice (from the way she spoke along with the words she used). Of course, the only 'kitten without a pedigree' in the club was Haruhi.

"I wouldn't call him that…"

Nanako placed a small plate of sandwiches on the table she was hosting at the moment. The girl who asked for it smiled and thanked her for it.

"Speak of the devil," Nanako began pushing her cart when she noticed Haruhi walking in. _Thank goodness,_ she thought, relief flooding through her body as she locked eyes with the person she could call her friend.

"Thanks for shopping for us, little piglet. Did you get everything on our list?" Nanako stopped her cart in front of her friend and began to unpack the items onto it. As she was putting the last few items on the top rack, she noticed she was missing the instant coffee she had just set down a few seconds ago.

"Wait a minute, what is this?" Tamaki asked, examining the container he now held in his hand.

"It's coffee." Nanako folded the bag up and placed it on the bottom rack of her cart.

"I've never seen this brand before… is this the kind that's already ground?" He asked.

"No, it's instant." Haruhi looked just as unenthused about the situation as Nanako did. They both just wanted to do their jobs and it didn't seem like it was going to happen any time soon.

"Instant?"

A small crowd of people began gathering around the spectacle that was 'instant coffee'.

"Wait, I've heard of this before. It's commoner's coffee! You just add hot water!"

It seemed like the crowd of ladies now believed that commoners didn't have time to grind their own coffee beans.

"Okay, I'll just take it back. Excuse me for not buying you guys expensive coffee." Haruhi grumbled, but before he could take the coffee back, Tamaki held up a hand to stop him.

"No, I'll keep it." The women gasped. "I'm going to give it a try." They gasped louder. "I will drink this coffee!" Tamaki proclaimed, and after a moment, the crowd began to clap.

"Alright, Haruhi, come over here and make some of this commoner's coffee."

Haruhi found himself hating all of the rich people, but hearing Nanako voice the same thought in a murmur made him remember that she was rich but not anything like any of the rich people she had met thus far.

Then again, he had only known her for a week, so how would he know that she's not like the rest of them?

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. While she seemed rather calm, the side of her mouth twitched every few seconds. She was obviously just as annoyed, if not more, with these people than he was.

Not only that, but instead of buying her way out of her debt like he would've assumed she would (she must've had the money to do so), she offered to help him pay back the debt she owned by working with him and not cheating her way out.

It kind of felt like she was a middle class girl stuck in a rich girl's body, if that made any sense. In any case, he was more than thankful for her wanting to help him.

"Oh, Tamaki, now you're taking the joke too far. Your palate's not going to be able to stomach that crap. You don't have to drink it just because he bought it."

Haruhi looked at the red-haired girl who remained. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry. I was talking to myself."

Even though the girl smiled at him, he could tell it was faked.

"Haruhi," The boy in question groaned.

"Hang in there, Haruhi." With a slight pat on the back, Nanako's lips turned up ever so slightly before rolling the cart of items into the back.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Is that boy really a third year?"

Nanako looked back at the table she had just tended to see the smallest of the club (along with the tallest) with their first patrons.

"I wonder that, too." Nanako readjusted one of the plates on her tray.

"Honey-senpai is a prodigy, despite his appearance." Kyoya informed, suddenly appearing beside the two. "And Mori-senpai's draw is his silent disposition."

Nanako turned her head towards the table where Kyoya previously sat with two women. Noticing it was void of people, she turned her cart towards it and made her way over to gather the plates.

It didn't take long for her to retrieve the plates and some others off separate tables, but when she returned, she walked right into an inspiring speech coming from Haruhi.

"Why should I care about appearances and labels anyway? I mean, all that really matters is what's on the inside, right? I don't even understand why this kind of club exists."

Nanako began snapping for poetic justice. Ironically, if they only _knew_ who she really was on the inside, she was sure it would freak them all out.

While it wasn't a rule, she felt as if telling others that she wasn't Nanako but instead Alexae seemed horribly wrong…not only that, but it could label her as crazy, which is something she didn't need in this world.

Nanako's eyes followed the blonde's rapid hand movements as he tried to explain something she wasn't interested in hearing.

"And above all else, you must know how effective a glance to the side can be."

"I got it!" Haruhi exclaimed, hitting her palm with her fist.

"Oh, did I strike a chord?"

"Obnoxious."

Tamaki's eye twitched. Then, he went to the corner and sat down in the fetal position.

It was comical, really.

"I'm sorry, Tamaki-senpai." Haruhi tried to apologize, but in reality he didn't really mean what he was saying.

He was a pain in the neck.

"Um… it did strike a small chord with me."

It took less than a second for the King to get back up with the same amount of energy he had before his fetal position.

"Really? Then allow me to share another skill with you!"

A small flourish of happiness bubbled in Nanako's chest and she couldn't help but smile. It was refreshing to be with silly people like him.

"You can teach him all the basics of hosting,"

"But he hasn't even passed the first most basic visual test." The twin on the right, closest to Nanako, finished his brother's sentence and stepped in front of Haruhi. "Now, with someone of his type, even if you take off his glasses, his eyes just look that much smaller…" He removed Haruhi's glasses and froze.

Nanako looked at Haruhi and felt the same way.

The glasses _really_ didn't do his face justice in any way, shape, or form. Haruhi's soft features made him look more approachable, and it _definitely_ stirred something within Nanako.

"Hey, I need those! I lost my contacts the day of the school's opening ceremony." Haruhi explained, waiving his hands lazily.

The twins were abruptly pushed out from in front of Haruhi, the one who had taken the glasses bumping into a slightly flustered Nanako as it happened. The two didn't say anything as they stood hip to hip in shock.

 _*Click*_

Tamaki snapped his fingers. "Hikaru! Kaoru!"

The twins saluted and hoisted Haruhi off into the changing room.

"Kyoya, contact my hair stylist!"

He immediately began dialing the number.

"Mori-senpai, go to the eye doctor and get him some contact lenses!"

Mori-senpai took off running.

"What about me, Tama-chan?" The smallest member of the club looked up expectantly at his club leader.

"Honey-senpai…"

"Yes, sir?"

"You…go have some cake."

Dejectedly, the boy took his place at a table with his stuffed bunny. "It's just us, Usa-chan… Everyone else said they were too busy."

"Nanako," The girl looked over at the mention of her name.

"Yes?" She asked, clasping her hands in front of her stomach.

"While we are tending to Haruhi, can you escort the ladies out? I'm afraid we will be ending early today."

Nanako bowed. "Of course. I'll get right on it."

"Thank you."

The blonde sauntered off towards the back room.

Nanako stared at him for a moment before sighing and returning to her cart.

"You're going to be in for quite the surprise." Nova's voice suddenly appeared behind her. "I wonder how you'll handle it…"

Nanako looked over her shoulder at the chocolate goddess who was filing her nails. She was no longer in her toga, instead sporting a more business-like attire. She wore dark grey slacks and a red button up shirt that looked like it could barely hold in her abnormally large breasts. Her hair was braided into a bun that sat neatly on the top of her head.

 _Don't you look nice._ Nanako thought as she informed the nearest tables of the clubs early closing.

"Honey, I always look nice." She snorted and threw her head back in laughter. "In any case, I don't think you'll know what's coming until it hits you square in the face. I'm going to love seeing your reaction!"

 _Good to know._

Nova watched the girl go about her way picking up plates and placing empty teacups on the cart. She didn't seem all that interested in anything even after being in such a wonderful place for over a week. Nova had heard stories that girls (and the occasional guy) would go crazy over opportunities like this—to see handsome men all the time and actually live in a romantic comedy… yet this girl, this anomaly, didn't seem enthusiastic about anything other than her new friend.

It felt wrong to hide information from her, but Nova was legally obligated not to disturb the plot—meaning she couldn't alter it in any way or give hints on what is to come.

Keeping everything to yourself was _extremely_ difficult, and that was why she tried to stay a good distance away from her wisher so she didn't accidentally mess things up for her (more so than she already had by bringing her here). At times, it was a little lonely, but Nova had her imagination and the entire world to explore, so she felt comfortable.

Maybe comfortable wasn't the right word. She felt…

Stable.

Neutral.

Bored.

"We'll return to our normal schedule tomorrow," Nanako explained to a table of slightly disheartened girls.

If Alexae was anyone else but herself, Nova would've left her alone. She was grateful for the fact that the girl took her situation in stride and didn't complain about it. She was also glad Alexae was always calm and collected, albeit a little snarky at times.

It was probably the reason why she fit so well in the club. Even though the girl couldn't see it, Nova could tell that the club members enjoyed having her there. She was always thorough in her work, always on time, always making sure people were okay on food and drink…

She lent a hand to someone in need and instead of taking the easy way out, she decided to take the same route as Haruhi. That act of kindness surprised them all.

They appreciated her efforts as well as her input. Nova was certain it was only going to get better from here.

"Have a nice evening!" Nanako exclaimed, waving her hands at the final group of girls to leave the room. She closed the door behind her and returned to gathering the remaining dishes.

Alexae needed others to show her that she is appreciated. The club members clearly needed her for a reason, even though Nova didn't know for what yet.

In time the reason would present itself.

For now, the girl would have to make the best of what she had.

* * *

 **Hello and welcome back everyone! It's Saturday and I'm all out of pre-written chapters. Luckily it's Labor day weekend so I don't have classes on Monday, so I'm taking my extended weekend to write the next few chapters for this story so I'm not stressed about writing it (like I was today).**

 **In any case, I hope you enjoyed chapter three! I really want to begin showing more sides to our two ladies of the hour (Nova and Nanako/Alexae) because character development is mandatory. You can see that Nanako is kind of snarky when it comes to certain things and Nova can be wise when she wants to be. I see them as enjoyable characters, Nova being an airhead with wisdom and Nanako being an understanding, calm, collected girl with some sass added in.**

 **Rounding out characters is wonderful.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was mostly dialogue from the anime, but it does have it's original moments! Thank you to everyone who reviewed (or thought to review but didn't) and also to those who have added this story to their alert/favorites. It's really uplifting to see people enjoying this story, so keep it up! I'm here for you guys!**

 **I'll see you all next week! Have a wonderful day and don't forget to review!**


	4. Someone to Count On

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Four: Someone to Count On

* * *

 _Italicized text_ = Usually represents Nanako's thoughts/Nanako speaking to Nova

* * *

At 5:25, Nanako carted her way into the back room. After the final group of girls left around 5:05, she had spent the next twenty minutes wiping down tables, sweeping the floor, and vacuuming the couches to get rid of any lingering crumbs. The boys were off doing god knows what with Haruhi, and while that worried Nanako, she felt as if she had to finish her job before she could call it a day.

Haruhi would surely understand.

Spotting her friend as she walked into the room, her jaw dropped ever so slightly.

"Look at this handsome devil." Nanako smiled teasingly as she walked up to her friend and examined his face. "I must say you clean up very nicely." Nanako placed a hand on her hip.

Haruhi scratched the back of his head with a blush on his face. "Thanks," He chuckled, "They're letting me keep it, but I have to get 100 customers to get them to forget about my debt."

"Oh, so you got promoted?" Nanako asked for clarification. Haruhi nodded. "That's cool. I'm sure it can't be that hard, right?"

"I don't know." Haruhi shrugged and turned to look at himself in the mirror again. He wasn't enthusiastic about the sudden change, but this was the quicker way to repay his debt. If he had continued as their errand boy, he would be stuck paying until he graduated, and he didn't want to be stuck with this club for the next two years—if it even existed that long.

However, seeing Nanako in the mirror made him remember that she was at a disadvantage. They were essentially the same rank in the club, but now that he was a Host, he only had one task at hand. She, on the other hand, had so many and it seemed almost unfair that she would probably be working for the duration of her high school career.

She was the type of person to not rely on her parents to buy her a way through life, so she would probably work until her half of the debt was paid… but how long could that be? Would she want to work that long?

"Hey, it's whatever gets you done faster, right?" He looked up at her. "You're probably thinking about how I'm going to be here longer than you, but don't." She smiled. "It's fine, Haruhi. I'm okay with being a maid. It's actually kind of rewarding…or maybe I just like cleaning." She laughed heartily causing him to smile.

"Even though you say that, I still feel bad."

"Haruhi, you have better things to do than spend your life in a club. I mean, you have to work your heart out to become a lawyer and the more time you get to focus on that the better. Besides, once you finish your quota, I don't think I'll be here for that much longer."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow at her comment, but seeing as she wasn't going to further explain it, he left it alone. He would keep it in mind and ask again at another time, but for now, he was going to let her do her own thing.

"I'm going home, then." Haruhi grabbed his bag. "I'll see you tomorrow, Nanako." She nodded and walked back to her cart to remove the cleaning items from it.

"Have a nice evening, Haruhi!"

They parted ways.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Thank you for driving me," Nanako said to her driver. He smiled and bowed.

"You are welcome, Nanako-sama."

She entered her house and greeted several maids who were waiting patiently for her at the door. One took her coat and another informed her that her mother was in the lounge room.

When she entered the lounge room, her mother was talking on her cellphone in Korean. Not far away from her was an extremely thin woman with dark hair pulled back into a tight bun, frameless glasses, and a black notebook in her arm.

She reminded Nanako of Kyoya.

Her mother didn't notice her presence in the room even though Nanako sat across from her. In fact, Nanako grew more irritated with the woman every minute she continued to talk on the phone and not make any sign of acknowledging her only daughter.

It was a full twenty minutes before her mother hung up and asked her secretary (the Kyoya clone) to write a few dates down in her calendar.

When that was finished, her mother finally looked at her. "Don't you care about your appearance at all? Honestly, I wonder if you're really my daughter."

Nanako didn't know what parent was worse: Her other world mother who was never happy and always started fights or _this_ woman who didn't take any interest in or even like her daughter.

"Um," Nanako began, unsure of how to continue.

Her mother stood and smoothed out her dress. "I'll be leaving tonight. I don't intend to be back for a while. Next time I see you, you better look more presentable."

The door closed behind her secretary as they left the room.

Nanako sat silently in the chair for a while.

"She was probably just having a bad day."

Nova's apologetic voice floated towards her wisher, but she didn't reply.

"I didn't know she was that cold." Nova tried, still not getting a response. "I'm sorry. If I would've known-"

"There's nothing you could've done," Nanako said blandly as she stood from the chair and headed towards the door. "I know you didn't mean it." Nanako closed the door behind her and shuffled up to her room.

She finished her homework and promptly went to bed early.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Here you go," Nanako placed several plates of cake down on the table that was currently occupied by Honey-senpai, Mori-senpai, and their two main guests who she saw with them quite often.

"These look so good, Nana-chan! I can't decide which one to eat first!" Honey-senpai exclaimed happily. Nanako smiled and went on about her way to the next table.

Sneaking a peek at Haruhi, she was relieved to see that her advice to act natural was paying off for him. The girls at his table were practically eating him up.

When she was done with her food distribution, she went back to a clean-up as well as ask the ladies if they were doing all right. It didn't hurt to ask, and they occasionally gave interesting answers or even asked her if she'd like to join. She would politely decline, stating that she was still 'on the clock' and couldn't take a break when there were so many people around.

It surprised her more and more everyday how nice these women were.

"Mori-senpai! Help me!" Nanako looked over at Haruhi to see him floating in the air.

 _No, wait, Mori-senpai is holding him up._

Nanako smiled and turned back to her cart. Just before she got all the way around, she spotted the redhead from the day before staring at the scene.

Her stare, however, seemed more menacing at second glance.

 _Someone's not happy._

The rest of the evening went by rather quickly, but it was surprisingly smooth despite all their antics. Nanako had gotten used to it by now, which was good because she was able to get her job done quicker when she wasn't bothering to get involved.

It was fun to listen, though.

The following day, she had received her most recent essay back in World Studies and was shocked to see that she had gotten mediocre marks on it. Personally, she thought she had done magnificently on the paper, but apparently, her teacher didn't see her paper the same way.

It was 'too vague' and 'didn't cover the topic' as well as it should've.

She honestly needed a breather after that. Staring at the paper frustrated her, so when homeroom ended, she took the first chance she got to rush out of the room and outside before she had to go to the Host Club.

Her arms stretched out above her head as she walked to open up her chest. It was easier to breathe that way, and she felt better when the warm air filled her lungs. She had a good ten minutes before she had to be anywhere, so she wanted to make this time last.

Nothing got her over her frustrations quicker than outside air.

 _*Splash*_

"Hm?" Nanako looked towards the noise and noticed the redhead from the Host Club tossing the contents of her bag into the fountain.

 _Wait, that can't be hers. Why would she toss her stuff into the water?_

She didn't know what compelled her, but she quickly took out her cellphone and snapped a picture of the scene. When the girl finished tossing the notebooks and stuff out of it, she tossed the bag in as well and then walked away.

It was the strangest thing Nanako had ever seen.

Sighing, she made her way to the club room to start ahead of the game.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Haruhi's bag was soaked.

Nanako had come to the back room to restock on food items when she noticed Haruhi's bag sitting on top of a towel.

 _That girl…_

She told Kyoya what she had seen that afternoon. He told her that Tamaki had mentioned something off with Haruhi's explanation on how his bag ended up in the fountain.

Thanking her, he went off in Tamaki's direction and she went back to tending tables.

She was not expecting to see the redhead sitting with Haruhi, however, and this caused Nanako to feel incredibly tense.

She was a bully.

She obviously didn't like Haruhi, and the only reason she would request him when she pulled a stunt like that would be to get inside his head.

Nanako decided it was best to stay in the general area, just in case anything happened.

Not even two minutes later, there was a skid of a chair moving too quickly, the thud of a table, and the shatter of a teacup that caused Nanako to look in the direction of Haruhi who was currently on top of the redhead who was screaming her heart out.

"Leave me alone! Somebody help! He just attacked me!"

Nanako's hand reached for her cart to grab something, but before she could do anything, the twins had already gone over to the problem.

"Someone teach this commoner a lesson!"

 _*Splash*_

The whole room was silent. There were many girls standing around and staring at what had just conspired, almost every single one of them plastered with worry, shock, and or curiosity.

Everyone was confused aside from those who knew what this girl was capable of.

Tamaki helped his patron up and brushed her soggy bangs out of her eye.

"Do something, Tamaki. Haruhi just assaulted me." She whined.

"I'm disappointed. You're the one who threw Haruhi's bag into the fountain, aren't you?" He asked.

She locked herself into defense mode. "You don't know that. You don't have any proof."

Nanako stepped forward. "I do." She pulled out her cell phone and clicked on the picture. "Here's the proof."

The girl glared at Nanako.

"Anger really puts a damper on your pretty face, you know." She retorted, causing the girls face to contort into shock.

"You—"

"I'm sorry," Tamaki interjected, "but you are not fit to be our guest. I know this much—Haruhi is not that kind of man."

Nanako nodded in agreement.

"Tamaki… you _idiot!_ " The girl cried as she ran out of the room.

"Hm... Now, what should your punishment be?" Tamaki pondered as he stared at Haruhi. "I got it!" Dramatically, he pointed at Haruhi. "Your quota is now 1000!"

"1000?!" Haruhi gasped.

Nanako felt bad, but at the same time, she felt happy that her friend had to stay longer. It meant they could spend more time together.

"I'll clean this up." Nanako trotted off to the back room.

It took a little while to get everything back in order, but when she was done, the floor looked spotless, the table was righted, and the vase was replaced. It was definitely a job well done.

"Okay!" She sighed happily and rubbed her forehead. Looking around, she noticed that no one was actually in the room anymore. "Did everyone leave?" She asked, picking up the rag and wringing it out in her soapy water bucket.

She couldn't have been cleaning up for that long, right?

Tottering into the back room, she noticed that Haruhi was the only person left in the room. He was wearing his dry uniform, but his wet one was folded neatly on top of his bag.

"Oh, you're still here?" She asked, hoisting the heavy bucket onto the sink and dumping the water down the drain. "I didn't realize I was cleaning for that long."

"It happens more often than you think." Haruhi sympathized, readjusting his tie in the mirror before walking over to his bag.

"Haruhi,"

"Yeah?"

"Why is my uniform warm?"

"Oh, I was wearing it for a while."

Nanako blinked. "What?"

"Really, they had me try it on and I just changed out of it not too long ago."

"Oh, okay." The girl switched out of her club uniform and into her school one before exiting the changing room and following her friend out of the club room.

"I didn't know what to do when she pulled me on top of her," Haruhi said as they began to descend the stairs. "I was in shock that it happened. I wasn't expecting her to do that."

Nanako glanced at Haruhi. "I figured she was going to try to get into your head, not accuse you of something you didn't do." She sighed. "I can say I was shocked that there are bullies here. All the girls I've spoken to at the Host Club have been so nice."

"I agree."

"If she should've targeted anyone, it should've been me, to be honest. I've been waiting for a girl to attack me because I'm always around their favorite host." Nanako laughed. "I can imagine them trying to fight me but not getting very far. I feel like all they have is their nails, but I've been attacked by cats before, so I can handle a catfight."

This time, Haruhi laughed.

"I made Haruhi laugh!" Nanako clapped her hands. "I know it's a little crappy that you have to get a lot more people now, but at least we'll be in this together for a longer period of time, right?" Nanako hooked her arm around Haruhi's neck and pulled her close. "I don't think I could do that every day if you weren't there with me."

"Agreed."

The two walked to Nanako's ride before parting ways for the day. It was nice to catch up after such a long week of change.

It was nice having friends who you could count on.

* * *

 **Hello again everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful day!**

 **In this chapter, we got to see Nanako's mother. I picture her parents as being rather cold, but her mother being more so than her father (probably because of the successful actress vibe she's got going on). On another note, her mother is half Japanese and half Korean. She frequently travels for work (while she has some ongoing jobs in Japan she has a few in South Korea as well; aside from the job, she frequently visits her mother's side of the family there). I also imagine her hiding her pregnancy from the public. A wonderful mother, right?**

 **You'd think that Nova would give Alexae a break and give her nice parents, but nope. No family is perfect, and I don't imagine Nanako's parents to dote on their only child. They're too busy with their own lives.**

 **Speaking of Nova, she's not going to be appearing as often in the next few chapters, if at all. Nova feels like she hurt Alexae's feelings by not truly knowing the mother was that cold, so she's giving Alexae some space to continue with her new lifestyle. Nova cares a lot about her and she wouldn't want to purposefully hurt her in any way. Also, she has realized that Nanako is pretty good on her own for now. If things begin to heat up, then she'll return, but for now, she's just going to observe her from the sidelines.**

 **Another thing in this chapter that you got to see is Haruhi and Nanako's relationship. I see them as really good friends in similar situations. They get along very well and I could go as far to call them best friends eventually. Friends are so important and I really want to explore that throughout the story.**

 **Lastly, I'm _still_ keeping Haruhi's gender a secret from Nanako. If I let her find out now, what's the fun in that? I don't want it to be that easy, so I can tell you that for now, Nanako believes that Haruhi is okay with cross-dressing. It hasn't even crossed her mind that her best "male" friend is actually a female.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm ahead of writing chapters for right now. I'm about halfway through the fifth and a quarter through the second episode. Thinking about it now, I thought this was going to be a short and sweet story, but it's starting to look like it's going to be a little lengthier. I hope you guys don't mind that I'm taking things kind of slow.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, added this story to their favorites and alerts, and gone through and read the story! I really appreciate all your support! I'm here for you guys, so don't forget to leave a review to tell me how you're feeling about the story so far.**

 **I'll see you guys next Saturday! Have a wonderful week!**


	5. The Theme of Today's Episode is

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Five: The Theme of Today's Episode Is…

* * *

"What?"

For a moment, Nanako worried that she had entered the wrong room. The room reminded her of a tropical island, minus the ocean and the sand.

There were a few tables that fit the theme scattered around as well as a bar.

Something flew by her face and she jumped. Finding the source, she noticed that it was a _live bird_.

"We at the host club strive for authenticity. This is no different than how we've normally run things." Kyoya explained from beside her, startling the girl once again.

"This is _normal_?" She asked, astonished and a little panicked at the sight of several bugs on the trees.

"Yes. Think of it as a theme day. I'm certain I explained that to you when you began working." He stated bluntly, staring at her over the top of his glasses.

He covered a lot of things on the first day, but it wasn't like she was going to remember any of it. The only things she chose to remember was what time to show up, what time to leave, what to do in case of an emergency, and how to do her job. She didn't remember hearing anything about a 'theme day'.

"Tamaki has chosen an outfit for you to wear today—to better suit the Balinese experience."

Nanako groaned. "I just got used to the maid outfit…"

"The outfit should only be for today, but you will definitely be wearing others in the future."

She examined his stature. He was always calm and collected, maybe a little happier today than other days.

She guessed it was because they made more money on theme days.

When she walked into the backroom, Honey happily greeted her and proceeded to show off his flower necklace. "Do you want to wear one today, too?" He asked, readily holding up another matching necklace.

"I think I have to look at my outfit before I made that decision." She laughed lightly.

"It's really cute! It's similar to the one Haruhi is supposed to wear!"

Nanako tilted her head, puzzled by his statement.

Honey tensed, forgetting that she was the only member of the club who didn't know Haruhi's secret. The six original members of the club agreed that Nanako would eventually figure it out on her own, but they weren't going to interfere. It was up to her to decide what she would do when she found out, but they were all confident that she wouldn't mind or want to tell anyone.

"Tama-chan is just trying to get Haru-chan to wear it, but everyone knows Haru-chan is going to say no." He smiled, hoping he covered his misstep up.

It worked.

"I think Haruhi would look like a girl if he wore a dress… I doubt that's what he wants." She headed towards the dressing room she always used and found her outfit on a mannequin.

It was interesting, to say the least. It had a nice set of colors, however, she had no idea how to put it on.

A part of her wanted to ask for help, but the only available help was from the boys, and she didn't want to take that step into familiarity with any of them. The other part of her was screaming at her to let her pride go and just get the help she needed so she didn't get in trouble.

She poked her head out from behind the curtains.

The only person remaining in the room was one of the twins. She didn't know which one it was, however, and she feared she would call him by the wrong name.

 _Hope for the best, I guess._

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before finally emitting noise. "Kaoru?" She called just loud enough for him to hear her. He turned around and found the source of the voice after a moment. "Can you help me put this costume on? I have no idea what to do…"

"Yeah, of course." He jogged over to her.

"You _are_ Kaoru, right? I didn't get it wrong, did I?" She asked as she pushed aside the curtain to reveal the outfit.

"No," He said, hoping to answer her question, but it didn't seem like it worked.

"You're not Kaoru?" She spat out in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to call you by the wrong name! I didn't know who was still in the room and I just guessed and I—"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" He held out his hands. "I'm Kaoru! I meant you didn't get it wrong. I'm sorry I didn't clarify." She couldn't hide her burning cheeks.

It took a few minutes, but he helped her put on her costume with ease. Well, as easy as he could without staring at her exposed skin.

He never actually got a good look at her up close, but she had good features. The most striking, of course, was her height. The majority of girls who frequently attended the club didn't exceed 165 centimeters, so she was the tallest female he'd seen in a while.

They didn't speak, aside from the occasional command to lift her arms turn around, but it wasn't as awkward as it could have been.

If he had to give it a name, he'd say he felt almost comfortable helping her.

If she described how she felt, she'd say at ease.

They felt comfortable together, which was strange considering of the circumstances.

"Thank you for helping me." She bowed slightly, her right hand keeping the headpiece from falling off.

"You're welcome. If you need help next time, just call me and I'll be there." He replied.

While he exited the back room, she stared at him with her hands folded behind her back.

 _What a feeling._

She had many mixed emotions on what had just transpired.

She felt embarrassed for showing so much skin. She felt anxious every time his delicate fingers grazed her skin. She felt at ease whenever she inhaled his scent. She was curious as to what he was thinking the entire time. What did he feel? Was it anything like she had felt?

Probably not.

She would keep it to herself for now. There's no use in muddying relationships with how she was feeling.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"…sponsoring a party."

Nanako looked at Tamaki.

"We're throwing a party?" She questioned under her breath. It excited her for a moment, but then her mind wandered off to the work she would have to do… She shivered.

 _Will I even be able to keep up with it all?_

The sheer squeal of girls brought her out of her thoughts. They were generally more excited today than they were before. Maybe it was the fact that a theme with shirtless men was exciting.

She had to admit, her temperature felt a little higher than normal.

"Morikawa-san,"

Nanako placed a stray cup onto her tray and turned towards the shirtless vice-president.

"You do not have to work at the party, per Tamaki's request. While you are the maid, he did not think it was fair to make you work when all the other women would attend to dance." He scribbled in his notebook. "He asks that you attend as a guest rather than on-duty."

 _Thank goodness._

Nanako smiled. "That's very nice of him. I would be pleased to go."

 _I'll have to thank Tamaki-senpai later._

Her eyes darted to the male who was staring at Haruhi. He looked shocked, and she understood why.

When she looked at Haruhi, she saw a patron she had seen last week with Tamaki. Nanako didn't think that the girls normally changed hosts, though. So far, all the girls she's talked to always requested the same host.

It was definitely weird.

When hosting was over and the room was normal, Nanako was sitting at a large table where the group was having a meeting…

Well, almost all of the group.

"Hey, boss, stop eating that commoner's ramen and come help us with the dance party planning."

Tamaki was sitting at a table he moved near the window and ate a bowl of ramen Nanako had made for him upon request.

He was upset, that much was clear, but the reason behind the emotion was still slightly unclear. She guessed it had something to do with the girl from earlier.

Did he like her, perhaps?

"Is Princess Kasuga taking a liking to Haruhi really bothering you that much?"

"Her illness isn't something that just started, right?" Kyoya mentioned.

"Illness?" Haruhi questioned.

"She has the host-hopping disease," One twin started.

"A.k.a. never-the-same-boy-twice disease." The other finished.

"Usually our customers choose a host and stick with them, however, she tends to change her favorite on a regular basis."

Nanako nodded. She was correct in thinking that earlier in the day.

"Before she was with you, she was with Tama-chan!" Honey smiled.

"Oh. So he's just upset because I took her from him?" Haruhi asked bluntly.

"Shut up! I could care less!" Tamaki shouted, suddenly appearing right in front of Haruhi on the opposite side of the table. "I'm running out of patience. Haruhi," He pointed at the boy dramatically, "start dressing like a girl!"

Two hissy fits, one blown up picture, one family reference, and one threat to demote Haruhi later, the members of the host club had calmed down and realized that Nanako was still in the room sitting quietly with a blank look on her face. They had been so caught up in Tamaki's argument that Nanako's presence had completely slipped their minds.

It wasn't like they intended to forget her, but her presence always seems to be eaten up by the rest of theirs, not to mention she never sits around with them; she has always been busy doing something or entranced in her work and never paid them any attention.

If it wasn't a theme day, she wouldn't have been sitting amongst them. However, because she had nothing to clean up afterward, she had free time until she was dismissed.

Eyes shifted from Tamaki to Nanako and then back to Tamaki.

It was his suggestion to let Nanako find out for herself and he had just ruined it.

Nanako turned her head towards her friend.

"Now it makes sense why you're so popular with the ladies." Nanako joked as she lightly jabbed Haruhi in the shoulder.

"Nana-chan, you're not mad?" Honey asked with his eyes wide open.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be mad? It doesn't change anything." She downed the rest of her tea. "It's not really my business what Haruhi does. I could care less about his gender— _her,_ sorry. All that matters to me is that she's not a horrible person." She looked at Haruhi. "To me, Haruhi is my best friend and nothing could end our friendship. I hope she feels the same."

Nanako meant what she said. She didn't want anything to come between them, especially things that are unchangeable—and Nanako actually being Alexae was no exception. She sincerely hoped that Haruhi and the others would still want to be her friend when her secret got out ( _if_ it got out).

"Aww, my daughter is so grown up!"

"Ack!"

Nanako's head was suddenly embraced by Tamaki as he held her tearfully. It wasn't just Tamaki that was hugging her after a moment, but the twins and Honey were also there with smiles on their faces.

"Our daughter is such an outstanding lady, isn't she Mommy?"

"Please let me go," Nanako whined, trying not to have herself smothered.

It felt nice to be accepted and loved, even if they were a bunch of dorks.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Quick, quick, slow…"

Nanako had a 'day off' if you could believe that. They were no activities today because Haruhi was having her first dance lesson with Princess Kasuga. It was kind of entertaining to watch her friend fumble around and try to get the hang of ballroom dancing.

Nanako had some formal dancing experience, but that didn't mean she was good enough to teach her friend how to do it.

At the moment, however, she was preoccupied with her own dance lesson.

"That's my foot."

"Sorry," Nanako apologized, minding her steps.

She was currently dancing with Kaoru who had graciously offered to practice with her. It was going smoothly, but it turns out that her dancing was nowhere near the fluidity of his.

"So, what do you want to become as an adult?" Nanako asked after another long pause between the two.

Kaoru's amber eyes widened at her question. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Or if that's not a good question to ask I can-"

"No, no, it's fine. It's just… normally people don't ask what I want to do first." He explained, gently spinning her around.

"What do they normally ask you first, then?" She pressed, resting her hand back on his shoulder.

"Well, adults usually ask me about how my parents are, or my grandmother if they're interested in her work. Girls our age ask how Hikaru and I are as a singular unit," His eyes slid over to his brother who was poking fun at their sulking King.

"But you guys aren't a singular unit…"

Kaoru faltered for a split-second but quickly recovered.

"Right… To answer your question, I think I want to become a fashion designer."

"You like fashion?"

"Yes, although I think enjoyment of it comes from my mother."

The two chatted happily for a few minutes and then parted ways; Kaoru returned to his brother's side and Nanako to Haruhi's.

As she was approaching, Princess Kasuga dashed out of the room with embarrassment written all over her face.

The Princess had a fiance and it was now the host club's job to make her—and subsequently her fiance—happy.

Nanako was pleasantly surprised. She had joined a goofy group of people who enjoyed helping others.

She was grateful.

"You look happy," Haruhi noted as she stared at the smile on her friend's face.

In truth, she was happier than she had been in the last several years of her waking life. Of course, there were highs and lows, but being around this group of people really opened her eyes to the world and who resides in.

It hurt knowing that she would eventually have to leave them, but that also meant that she would have to cherish these moments and keep them with her for the rest of her days. She would have something good to turn to and remember whenever she felt down.

In fact, she could search for the storyline when she returned. She would have to ask Nova about it when the plot finished.

She wanted something good for her. She felt as if this would give her what she's been searching for.

"I am." She replied. "I am very happy."

For the first time in a long time, she actually meant it with every fiber of her being.

* * *

 *****This chapter was edited on 9.24.2016*****

 **I'm more satisfied with my revision of this chapter, so I hope you enjoyed it more the second time through.**

 **I'll see you guys next time! Have a wonderful day!**


	6. Dressed for Success

**Note (9/24/16): I rewrote chapter 5, so if you're here and have already read chapter five when I posted it on 9.17.16, you should go re-read it. It's not completely rewritten, but it would be wise to read it all the way through because there is change towards the end. Thank you and enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Six: Dressed for Success

* * *

Nanako looked at the message on her phone. Earlier that morning she had received a test from Kaoru (who had gotten her cell number from Kyoya) requesting her presence at the Hitachiin Manor. She had arrived ten minutes early and was now silently standing in the foyer waiting for the maid to return and tell her where to go.

Her hair was neatly tied in a ponytail. She wore a lightweight beige coat with a blue scarf rested around her neck. Her jeans hugged her legs perfectly and her boots were incredibly comfy, despite the slight heel. Her shirt was pink and her cardigan was white.

It was more comfortable than the uniform (she never really liked wearing dresses), and it was also one of the better outfits she had created since she began living in this world.

She felt good. That's all that mattered.

"Hey,"

Nanako's eyes locked onto the figure who was descending the stairs.

"Are you gonna stand there all day? Come on."

This was _not_ Kaoru…

"Um, okay." She scurried to the twin's body and followed him up the stairs.

Hikaru—at least she assumed this was him—didn't say anything to her on the way up the stairs. She had never really spoken to him, either, so that didn't help the situation.

She didn't even think she formally introduced herself, which was even worse to think about.

"Kaoru's in there," He turned and pointed to the door they were in front of.

"Okay, thank you." She bowed out of habit. Before he could run off, though, she grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. "I don't think I formally introduced myself." She bowed again and smiled. "My name is Nanako Morikawa. It is a pleasure to meet you, Hikaru Hitachiin."

"Likewise." He said curtly before turning to leave.

Nanako pushed the door open and entered the room only to slip on a stray piece of fabric.

She landed harshly on the floor.

"Oh, Nanako! I didn't hear you come in." Kaoru, just noticing her from the sound of her hitting the ground, rushed over to help her up. "I'm sorry about the mess. My mother can get kind of messy when she's inspired. I've been trying to help her out but I guess I didn't get everything off the floor." He picked up the silky fabric and hung it over his arm.

Nanako brushed off her pants and turned her wrist in circles. "It's fine… is your mother…"

"She's a fashion designer. Actually, she helps create a lot of the costumes we wear on the theme days." Nanako followed him further into the room.

"Oh really?" She thought back to the outfits from the Bali-theme day. They were pretty magnificent if she were to really think about them. Very detailed, very thorough with influence, and they were even comfortable to wear.

"She also helped design your uniform for the club," Kaoru mentioned as he placed the fabric back where it came from.

"That's so fascinating." Her eyes were wide as she observed a few mannequins standing around with different levels of completed outfits on them.

"I know you probably have a dress for the dance party tonight, but my mother insisted on making you one to try out. I just think she's fascinated by your measurements." He chuckled, causing her to smile.

"I suppose I could be a model for a while." Kaoru nodded and jogged off to the connected room. He returned a few moments later with several different dresses.

"Oh my… she didn't have to make all of those…"

Kaoru shook his head. "She didn't mind. It gave her time to work through her creative block she was having for her other projects. She enjoys making dresses the most." He hung the dresses up on an empty rack. "When Hikaru and I were little, she used to dress us up as girls when we had gatherings. Of course, no one could tell us apart so she used to give us identical outfits with different colors—wigs and all. I was always blue and Hikaru was always pink."

Nanako cracked a smile. "That's cute. It must've made it easy for her to tell you two apart then, right?"

"For her, yes. For everyone else, no. No one ever could tell us apart when we were little, aside from our father."

"And your mother, too, I'm guessing?" Nanako asked, shedding her coat and hanging it up on the end of the rack.

"Well, no. She's never been able to tell us apart."

Nanako glanced at Kaoru from the corner of her eye. He smoothed out the collar of one of the dresses without any kind of expression on his face.

She didn't know what to say.

"All right." Kaoru turned towards her. "Let's begin the Morikawa fashion show!"

One by one, she made it through the five dresses.

The dress she liked the best was a mid-thigh length purple teacup dress with a lace square cut neckline and sleeves that reached her elbows. She felt the most comfortable in that one, and it showed on her face.

"You really light up in that one. I could tell you liked wearing it."

Nanako ran her hands over the silken fabric once more as she gazed at it on its hanger. "Grape is one of my favorite colors, next to royal blue. I think I look best in dark colors."

Kaoru nodded. "I agree. The lighter colors don't pop as well on your skin as the darker ones do. I also don't think light muted colors work with your hair color."

Nanako nodded. "Is this really going to be okay for me to wear? Is it going to fit the dress code? I know it's a little short…"

"It's fine," Kaoru placed a reassuring hand on her arm. "Dresses comes in all shapes and sizes, so as long as you wear the outfit and not let it wear you, no one will question it."

"That's…actually pretty sound life advice." Nanako looked at Kaoru with a smile. "You're a lot wiser than you let on."

Kaoru felt his cheeks heat up.

"You are, too." He stated, letting his hand drop from her arm. "You can see it in your eyes when you're thinking. I can see the wheels turning in your head."

She eyed him for a moment before snickering. "Thank you," She said through laughter, "I try my best to think both inside and outside of the box—the shallow waters as well as the depths of the ocean if you will."

He smiled.

She smiled back.

They stayed like that, in blissful silence, for several moments before they were brought back to the present.

"I can bag that up for you," Kaoru glided over to a rack near the back of the room and opened several bags before toting one back over to Nanako. Swiftly, he slipped the dress and hanger into the garment bag before handing it over to her.

"Tell your mother I really enjoyed trying on dresses that fit my body and for designing such wonderful outfits." Nanako readjusted her scarf and clutched the dress to her chest.

"I will. She will be grateful to know you loved her designs." Kaoru replied as he slipped one hand into his pocket.

"All right. Thank you for inviting me over and giving me the dress. I promise to not let it wear me!" Her smile beamed as she giggled and turned towards the door. "I'll see you in class tomorrow. Have a nice weekend, Kaoru!"

"You, too!" Kaoru waved.

Nanako showed herself out, a wide smile frozen on her face.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Nanako ran her largest makeup brush in circles on her cheeks, lightly applying a rose color to her cheeks. She hadn't put much makeup on—she wasn't a makeup kind of person—but she figured she could do a little more because this was a dance after all.

She could afford to wear a little bit more makeup.

Staring at herself in the bathroom mirror, she smiled at her handiwork and closed the lid to her blush compact. She stood from her seat and stepped back to get a good look at herself in the mirror.

She had to admit she looked very pretty.

 _*Knock, knock*_

Her head turned towards the door. Standing in a loose dark blue button up tucked into black slacks, thin stature, and a rough amount of stubble littered on his chin was her father.

"Don't you look beautiful,"

Nanako's eyebrows raised in shock. She was expecting her father to be like her mother—cold and abrupt—but instead, this man practically oozed kindness.

"T-thank you," She stuttered and quickly cleared her throat before continuing. "I'm part of a club and they're hosting a dance." She trailed off and clasped her hands in front of her waist.

"You joined a club? The independent Nanako joined a club?" His smile grew wider. "I'm so proud of you for opening up and deciding to join a club!" He gave her a thumbs up after attempting to reach out and ruffle her neatly pressed hair. "What club is it?"

Nanako blinked once and pulled her shoulders inward. She didn't know how her father would react, but she had to tell him, right?

"It's called the Host Club… but I'm just their maid! I mean, I help clean up after them—when they're done with their patrons—I mean the girls—I mean they just listen to them chat about lots of stuff, it's not like a _host club_ host club by any means! There is absolutely no sexual interaction of any kind." She blurted out in a panic, not sure if she made any coherent sense in the long run.

Her father looked at her for a moment and then boomed with laughter. "That sounds fun. I don't think we had one of those when I was in school. I know if we did I would _definitely_ be a part of it. I was quite popular amongst the ladies in my teenage years." He ran a hand over his slicked back hair with a smug smile. "My charm, however, did not earn the affections of your mother. I won her over by begging and then when that didn't work I begged my parents to create a partnership with her family and we got married that way." He looked off into the distance, reminiscing on his wedding day. "She looked so beautiful with that scowl on her face… I'm pretty sure she still hates me." He laughed heartily.

Nanako was slightly concerned for his mental health.

"In any case, I hope you have fun tonight. Sorry, I've been off the grid for a while. I've been working around the clock with all sorts of artists and this is the first break I've had in three weeks. I want to spend my night sleeping because I've only had gotten about 50 hours over that time."

That was probably why he seemed slightly off his rocker.

"I'll see you in the morning Nanako. Have a wonderful night." He kissed her head and made his way down the hall.

He surpassed her expectations. He seemed like a loving father who just wasn't home enough to see her—which was evident seeing how much he worked.

She felt bad for making a judgment on him after meeting her mother.

Meeting such an interesting person and having him as your father... It was okay to be happy, wasn't it?

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"It is so good to see you here tonight, my little lambs." Tamaki's voice echoed throughout the large ballroom. "The Ouran Host Club would like to bid you… welcome."

The lights came on, the orchestra began to play a free-flowing waltz, and all the women on the floor began to clap enthusiastically.

"As always, ladies, the host club members are here for your entertainment, so we invite you to dance to your heart's content." Kyoya announced with a 'real' smile plastered on his face. "Based on her dancing skills, one lucky lady will be chosen to be tonight's queen. The queen's reward will be a passionate kiss on the cheek from our king." All eyes immediately focused on Tamaki.

"Good luck to you, my darlings."

A flurry of squeals, shrieks of excitement, and fainting spells occurred on the dancefloor. Nanako smiled at the girls, finding it entertaining that they could all get so excited even they all request different hosts.

The dance began shortly afterward, and Nanako watched as the first women were chosen to dance. It was refreshing to watch everyone dance so elegantly across the dance floor (aside from Honey-senpai who was being swung around by his first guest—the girl Nanako saw and served most often when she tended Honey-senpai's table).

Throughout the first half of the night, girls she had regularly seen and spoken to spent some of their waiting time chatting with her. It was nice to know that she had people who _wanted_ to speak with her outside of club activities. They all seemed so nice, albeit a little naïve every now and then.

Overall, speaking with people who were interested in her opinions and her life was a wonderful feeling.

At one point during their conversations about different types of food came a moment where Nanako noticed that the boys were nowhere to be seen.

Every single one of them was missing and the girls were now mingling with each other, giggling and laughing and some even dancing with each other.

It was strange.

Not long after she had made that observation, all of the girls gathered on the outside balcony of the ballroom to watch Princess Kasuga dance with her fiancé.

Watching them dance was magical. You could tell they were in love with each other.

Truly beautiful.

Princess Kasuga was named queen of the ball, but instead of receiving a kiss from Tamaki, she was now going to receive a kiss from Haruhi.

Haruhi cupped Kasuga's face and tilted it to get a perfect angle towards her cheek. Suddenly, Tamaki flung himself down the stairs in what looked like an attempt to stop it from happening, but somehow he slipped and ended up pushing Haruhi _into Kasuga's lips._

Nanako gasped.

The girls squealed in delight.

"Well, _that_ was exciting." Nanako laughed, leaning on the railing as she stared at her friend.

It was truly a wonderful evening.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Were you shocked when Tamaki pushed you into Princess Kasuga?" Nanako asked on the ride to Haruhi's house.

"Extremely. I wasn't expecting him to do that." Haruhi sighed.

"He looked like he was trying to stop you, I think. But he must've slipped on something and then fell into you… although I'm not sure because I was so far away." Nanako explained, trying to remember what exactly happened in that one moment.

"I wasn't expecting to give my first kiss to a girl… but I'm glad it was an amazing night."

Nanako nodded.

"I agree. Tonight was spectacular."

When they arrived at Haruhi's duplex, they said their goodbyes. Nanako wanted to make sure Haruhi made it inside of her apartment before allowing her driver to take her home.

She changed out of her dress, removed her makeup, and said goodnight to her father who was passed out, fully clothed, on his bed.

It was okay to be happy, and knowing this, she slept peacefully.

* * *

 **Hello and welcome back! I'm so happy I found the inspiration to churn out this chapter for today!**

 **I'm extremely satisfied with this chapter, so I hope you enjoyed all of its wonderful bonding moments!**

 **Firstly, I would like to thank Maistyria for reviewing and telling me that it's okay for characters to be happy. I'm really going to keep that in mind while writing future chapters because I felt like I was being unfair to Nanako just because she needed something to be healed for. I hope her relationship with her busy father is something that will make up for it.**

 **Secondly, I know I said I probably wouldn't romantically involve her with Kaoru, but there's nothing wrong with creating a strong friendship! I can see the two as becoming wonderful friends. I hope you enjoy the blossoming of their friendship.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, favorited, and even just read the story. It means a lot to me that you have found something interesting about my story. I am so grateful for your support.**

 **I will see you guys next Saturday! Have a wonderful weekend!**


	7. Flower Viewing and Physical Exams

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Seven: Flower Viewing and Physical Exams

* * *

There was a note taped neatly to the door of the music room.

Peeling it from the door, she stared at the characters before swiveling on her heel and walking to her new destination.

She was sure they informed her to meet in the north gardens for the flower-viewing reception, but being as she wasn't directly paying attention, they probably all knew she would forget.

She was glad they looked out for her, even in something as small as the note.

It took about eight minutes, but when she arrived, the last of the table cloths were being draped over the tables. The cherry blossom trees were in full bloom and petals were dancing everywhere.

"Wow," She said in awe. It was one of the prettiest scenes she had ever been a part of.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Tamaki asked as he suddenly appeared beside her. "I've always found cherry blossom trees to be quite magnificent."

Nanako nodded. "They really are." It was only then that she noticed his outfit.

He looked like a waiter.

"That's a nice outfit." She picked up a stray petal from his shoulder and let it go in the wind. "Is everyone dressed like this?"

"No. We've decided to embody modern-day hosting as well as traditional. Honey-senpai, Mori-senpai, and Haruhi are all embodying more traditional looks." He explained.

"That's very interesting."

"I believe the host club needs to be. Beauty doesn't come in one shape or size, nor does it come in one style." Nanako had launched him into a soapbox on beauty, and while she did listen to most of it, she was distracted every now and then.

"Oh, look. I believe your first guests are here." She pointed out, causing Tamaki to immediately turn around and glide over to his patrons.

Even though she wanted to do her job, there was no way she was going to push around a cart through the grass. The most she was able to do is to pour tea into many different kinds of teacups.

It was very refreshing to hear the girls talk about their favorite teacups or even how cute the ones they had were. It still surprised Nanako how bubbly and open they were. It got her thinking that the host club attracts the right kind of people to it (aside from the redhead bully).

"Hey, Nanako," The girl in question turned around to see Kaoru waving her over. She trotted over quietly and acknowledged Haruhi staring at her blankly with Hikaru's arm wrapped around her neck.

"Have you decided on elective courses for this term?" Two voices synchronized as she got close enough to the trio.

She thought back. She remembered looking through the list of prospective classes, but she didn't recall ever finalizing on what electives she wanted to take. Seeing as she could only pick one, it was a difficult decision to make, and she didn't feel prepared to choose a class.

"I don't think I have." She stated, her finger finding its way up to her temple and gently scratching it.

"What do you think about taking conversational French with the three of us?" Nanako looked at Haruhi and saw a sign that she didn't actually choose conversational French.

In her own life, she had never understood French, and she was confident that she wouldn't suddenly begin to understand now that she was elsewhere in the world.

"I've never been good at French… However, I was thinking about going towards something in the art department." She explained.

"Really? I've never seen you look at art." Hikaru quipped, his tone causing it to sound much harsher than he meant it.

"I think you'd be good at it." Kaoru quickly chipped in, pinching his brother on the arm.

"Hey, what was that for?!" He complained, rubbing the pain away.

A few meters away from the group was Tamaki, who was currently hunched over towards a tree and rambling off a hypothesis as to why Haruhi doesn't like him as much.

"By being in the same class, Hikaru and Kaoru are able to spend more time with Haruhi than I get to here at the club! This gives them the chance to get close to her, and if that happens…"

"Tamaki. Did you just now realize that?" Kyoya asked, causing the king to jolt in shock from the harsh undertone coming from his friend's words.

Kyoya then explained that, because the twins spend much of their class time with Haruhi, they have a larger percentage of bonding time spent with her while Tamaki, who is limited to club time, only spends about 3% of Haruhi's time with her.

"While the twins spend a large majority of time with Haruhi, there is one person who spends more time with her than anyone else—and she takes the title as Haruhi's best friend."

Tamaki violently turned his head towards the tall girl currently walking away from the twins. Swiftly, he ran over to her and grabbed her upper arms.

"Nanako!"

Nanako, visibly shaken, stared at her captor with wide eyes.

"You need to do something about how much time the twins spend with Haruhi! You already know they're shady, so don't let them influence my daughter!"

"Who are you calling shady?!" Hikaru asked incredulously, overhearing the not so secret conversation.

"Yeah, take a good look at yourself boss!" Kaoru added on, equally offended by Tamaki's comment.

Tamaki faltered for a split second before jumping right back into action. "All right! We can't continue hiding the fact that she's a girl from everyone else!" With his fist clenched, he grabbed a passing Haruhi and stared at her.

"I just want you to go back to the girl you used to be and to surround yourself with girlfriends and start living a wholesome life!"

"Hey!" Nanako, just like the twins, felt offended by Tamaki's lack of tact at approaching the subject.

"Well, there's no need to rush things. She's going to be found out soon enough anyway." Hikaru mentioned, leaning side to side with his twin.

"Physical exams are the day after tomorrow." Kaoru finished.

Haruhi looked at them.

"Physical…exams?"

All members of the club halted.

"That's right. I had forgotten about that."

"So… everyone is going to know she's a girl in two days…" Nanako stated.

While it would be nice for her friend to be known as a girl (androgynous as she is), Nanako knew that it wasn't worth it because Haruhi wouldn't be able to be a host anymore.

She couldn't imagine her being a female host. It wouldn't go down well with whoever monitored over clubs. In fact, she could imagine them fighting tooth and nail _not_ to have a host club in the school…

She wondered why it was allowed in the first place.

The next day in their daily pre-club meeting, Tamaki was sitting in his chair daydreaming.

It was very weird to watch.

"Tama-chan seems to be enjoying himself." Honey was probably the most entertained out of the three that were watching the man in question.

"I don't know, it looks kind of pathetic to me," Hikaru grumbled.

"He looks deranged," Nanako added.

"Envious, Hikaru? This is all part of my strategy. While you've wasted time blinded by your jealousy, I've foreseen the outcome of this charade." Tamaki had stood up and turned around to explain what he believed was the ending to this situation. "This anime is obviously a romantic school comedy with Haruhi and I being the main characters. This means we are love interests."

"So what does that make us?" The twins asked.

Tamaki turned around with a bright smile on his face. "You guys are the homosexual supporting cast!"

This included Nanako.

"Please make sure you do not step across this line." Tamaki drew a line on the floor separating the other members of the host club from himself.

"Um, Tamaki, I don't think you understand something about the situation." Nanako raised her concern for Tamaki's oblivious thinking.

"If word gets out that Haru-chan is really a girl, then she won't be able to stay in the host club." Honey finished, hoping his underclassman would realize how devastating the situation actually was.

" _But_ if Haru-chan started wearing girl's clothes, I bet she'd be even cuter than she is now!"

"She did dress like a regular girl back in middle school, so she must've been pretty popular with all the boys."

"Yeah. According to my investigative report, someone would declare their undying love to her at least once a month."

"Oh, I see. So the boss wouldn't even be able to get close to her."

"But _we'd_ be able to because we're in class with her all day long."

"I often see her after club activities, _plus_ Haruhi and I are best friends after all."

Tamaki had tears in his eyes after the last three statements.

"No way…"

The door groaned opened and Haruhi walked in.

"Hey, sorry I'm so late."

Haruhi was interrupted by the king grabbing her shoulders and pulling her inches away from his face.

"Don't you worry, Haruhi! I'll keep your secret and make sure that no one will find out you're really a girl during tomorrow's physical exams! So, please promise you'll be our beloved secret princess!"

Haruhi blinked twice.

"Sure."

"You know, I think both of us would be pretty peeved if we had to watch all the guys fawn over her," Hikaru commented to Kaoru. "Not only that, but they'd probably use you to get to Haruhi." He said, looking at Nanako who was roughly thinking the same thought.

"I would definitely _not_ be okay with that." She huffed, her skin crawling with anger the more she thought about it.

Operation: Conceal Haruhi's Gender had commenced.

"I got it!" Haruhi exclaimed, finally figuring out why they were making a big deal out of what she saw as a minuscule problem. "You're worried that if they find out that I'm a girl then I won't be able to repay my debt!" She turned around to calculate how much debt she was in, but then laughed it off.

"Do something!" The twins yelled, turning towards Tamaki. "The subject appears to have little motivation!"

"Why did we get stuck with such a difficult heroine?"

 _That's a good question._ Nanako mused as she stared at her friend with concern.

"Are you saying you hate being a host? That you hate this club?!" Tamaki cried, only to receive Haruhi's blunt and honest answer in return.

"To be honest I'd have to say yes."

Tamaki retreated to the farthest corner of the room.

"I mean, you guys aren't bad, but if it gets out I'm a girl there's nothing I can do."

Haruhi didn't seem to care at all, which was kind of frightening.

"We need to find some way to motivate her."

It was silent for a moment while the members pondered over what could motivate her.

"Fancy tuna."

Nanako was shocked. This was probably the first time she had heard Morinozuka-senpai speak since she joined the club, and while she imagined his voice to be deep, she didn't expect it to be _that_ deep.

It was actually alluring if she were to be completely honest with herself.

 _Who knew I had a thing for deep voices._

Seeing as though Haruhi was still fascinated by the mere thought of fancy tuna _and_ that she would be able to eat it anytime she pleased if she were to stay in the club, she now had the motivation to keep her gender hidden from the public.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

" _What is this?_ "

Nanako stared at the line of nurses and doctors politely smiling towards the incoming students with wide eyes. She had never seen such a thing before, so Haruhi and she were experiencing similar emotions.

She walked further into the examination room blindly. Students were going every which way to see their respective doctors and nurses for the day, yet she had no idea who hers was or where she was supposed to go.

"Miss Morikawa?"

Hearing her name, Nanako spun on her heel to see a petite woman who was just a smidge taller than Haruhi looking up at her with gorgeous golden eyes. Her brown hair was brushed neatly back into a small ponytail that looked like it would fall out from how short her hair probably was.

"Yes, that's me," Nanako said politely.

"I'm going to be your doctor for today's examination. You can come with me." Nodding, Nanako took a step towards her small doctor who was gliding across the floor quicker than she'd ever seen a person move. Before she could take another, someone accidentally stepped on her foot, causing her to wince at the weight being placed on it.

"Ow!" She hissed, jumping back ever so slightly and trying to hold her foot.

"I-I'm sorry." She looked into the eyes of a scruffy man who had on a lab coat like all the other doctors around, but he seemed extremely out of place.

"It's fine." She mumbled as he scurried away.

 _That was weird._

Her examination was easy; she had apparently grown an inch since the previous year and gained several kilograms. Before her examination was completely over, Dr. Yamauchi had asked her several questions pertaining to a few health concerns she apparently had within the last year.

"How is your ACL healing?"

Nanako tilted her head. She had something wrong with her ACL?

"It feels… fine, I suppose. I haven't had any problems with it." She answered as vaguely as she could.

"That's good. It looked like the scarring had healed as well, so I'm glad the tear was fixed." She paused as she skimmed over the rest of the document. "And you're not dancing anymore, correct?"

Nanako shook her head.

"Great. We wouldn't want it to tear again, right?"

Nanako nodded.

"Apart from that injury, it seems like there's nothing serious other than allergies…" Dr. Yamauchi flipped the papers back into place and smiled at Nanako. "You're free to go."

"Wonderful."

Nanako pushed the curtains back and returned to the world of squealing girls and shirtless men.

 _It could be worse, I guess._ She thought as she shuffled off towards the door. All she wanted was some peace and quiet, and because she wasn't a part of the plan to keep Haruhi's gender a secret, she was allowed to head back to the classroom and get some extra studying done.

"O-oh, excuse me, miss?"

Nanako felt someone's hand touch her shoulder. It was the guy who had stepped on her foot earlier.

"Yes?"

"I'm looking for my daughter. Do you know where I could find," Just before he could say his daughter's name, a girl's piercing scream echoed through the hallway and they both looked towards the source.

"You filthy pervert! Get off of Nanako-san!" The man quickly let go of Nanako's shoulder and took several shaky steps back before turning and running off.

A large group began forming around the girl who was so frustrated with what had happened that she had started crying.

"There was a doctor who was trying to make a pass at Nanako-san! I was so frightened. I didn't want such a nice person to be kidnapped!"

A few people began to question Nanako to see if she was all right, but all she could really get out was _yes_ , she was fine and _no_ , she didn't feel assaulted or anything of that nature.

"Did you see which way the pervert doctor went?"

"He ran off towards the special boy's clinic."

Before Nanako could move, she was snatched up by the members of the Host Club who were currently running in the direction the doctor went.

"What's going on?!" She cried, holding on to her captor (Morinozuka-senpai) for dear life.

"Haruhi's in the special boy's clinic having her examination!" The twins replied in a panic.

 _Haruhi should be fine… right?_ Nanako caught herself thinking as they closed in on their destination.

* * *

 **Hello everyone and welcome back to another chapter!**

 **I'm pretty proud of the small bits of humor I managed to place in this chapter. Of course, it's just transferring lines or cutting some out, but I think some of my original quotes from Nanako are quite entertaining.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm liking the steady pacing of getting about halfway through an episode before ending the chapter (although this chapter is about 3/4ths of the way through the episode because I couldn't find a good place to stop). Please remember to leave a review and add this to your alerts/favorites!**

 **Thank you to everyone who _reviewed_ (or thought about _reviewing_ ), added me or the story to your favorites or alerts, and to everyone who's read this far into the story. I'm grateful to all of you.**

 **Have a wonderful day!**


	8. Kindness and Wisdom

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Eight: Kindness and Wisdom

* * *

"Tama-chan kick!"

The doctor went flying into the wall.

Nanako blanched. She didn't expect Tamaki to jump kick the guy _into the wall_.

She opened her mouth to say something, however, the members of the host club were too zoned into the current situation to heed her words.

"One," The twins spoke, turning their heads towards the doctor so they appeared as mirror images, "Good looks that attract the public eye."

"Two," Kyoya stepped forward and the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees, "More wealth than you can imagine."

"Three, chivalry that will never be able to overlook,"

"The hideous wickedness in this world," Honey said, finishing his cousin statement and proceeding to glare at the doctor who had detached himself from his indent in the wall.

Tamaki placed his shirt over Haruhi's head to cover her half-undressed half up.

"That's what makes up the Ouran host club." He stated, placing his hands on his hips.

"We're here. Watch out!" They said as a group.

The man immediately lowered his head to the ground, begging to have his life spared.

Nanako stepped out from behind the group. "This is a huge misunderstanding. He's looking for…"

"I'm a doctor." The man began, cutting off his defender as he began to tell his life story.

He ran a small clinic in the next town over, and he came here looking for his daughter who had jumped ship with his wife because of an IOU.

He also said he was mistaken for a doctor, but when he tried to ask Nanako if she knew his daughter, the whistleblower from earlier, who had screamed and tried to alert others about the 'pervert doctor who was trying to make a pass at Nanako', he got scared and ran off—which in retrospect was a pretty good move on his part.

He would've probably been arrested for trespassing and never would've seen his daughter again. Or at least that's the thought that came to Nanako's mind first.

"I was going to help him, but because that girl jumped to conclusions, I wasn't able to," Nanako stated.

"Dr. Yabu, I think you may have the wrong place. Are you perhaps looking for Ourin Public High School?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Yikes," Nanako muttered, realizing how big of a mistake this guy made.

Although she felt sympathy because the names were so close. If she were him, she probably would've wandered into Ouran, too.

"Man, that's sad. You don't even know what school your daughter goes to?"

"Maybe the reason your relationship is so bad is because you don't pay attention to her, not because of some stupid debt."

"Well, hold on a second." Nanako held up her hand. "The names are very similar. He probably didn't know what the school looked like, so if he were to do a general search, like _Ouran High School_ , he probably would've gotten this school instead of the one he was actually looking for… I know I could make that mistake."

"But how did Kyo-chan figure it out?"

The four looked at their vice president.

"There's no way the daughter of a small-time doctor would ever be able to get into Ouran Academy."

"Kyoya, would you please provide a map of all the public schools in the area? I would like to help this man find his daughter."

And so, the group watched from the window to see Dr. Yabu off. He was very thankful for their efforts. Nanako was glad they were _finally_ able to help him out and make sure he didn't get into any trouble.

While they knew his relationship with his daughter might not be fixed, it was up to Yabu to put forth the effort to change it.

Haruhi finished her physical exam without any problems, and the rest of the day proceeded as normal.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Theme-day had arrived, and in her dressing room was a dark purple kimono. Off to the side was an envelope with her name written on it.

She opened it up to find a letter from Yuzuha Hitachiin.

' _Nanako,_

 _I would've loved to have been there to see you model my outfits, but I had to attend to my own business early that morning. Kaoru did show me pictures, though, and I am really excited to have you come back sometime!_

 _Kaoru mentioned your favorite color was grape, and I was happy to make you a kimono in that color! You can keep it if you would like._

 _We will meet again soon!_

 _-Yuzuha'_

Nanako touched the kimono and sent silent thanks to the maker before slipping out of her clothes and into the custom article.

Quickly braiding her hair, she pinned the loose ends down with her hairclip and began her day.

She made her rounds and noticed something odd with the hosts: almost every one of them (save for Haruhi) had cried—or _was_ crying—when she went by them.

"Are those tears fake, too?" Nanako overheard.

 _Oh, that makes sense._

She began to turn but noticed a lingering girl in the doorway. Nanako couldn't place it, but she felt like she knew this girl, whoever she was.

Slowly approaching her, she bowed. "Welcome to the Host Club. Is this your first time here?"

The girl stared at her for a moment before letting a small gentle voice escape her lips. "Yes. I'm looking for…Kyoya-sama?"

Nanako nodded. "Of course. Why don't you follow me?"

"Yeah, come on in. What are you waiting for?" Kaoru asked, holding out a rose to the new guest.

Hikaru followed suit. "Watching from afar is no fun."

"Stop that. How many times have I told you to be more courteous to first-time guests? Here, don't be afraid, princess. I welcome you to the Ouran Host Club."

"She wanted to request-!"

"No! Don't touch me, you phony!" The girl yelled, slamming her hand into Tamaki's face, utterly shocking six members of the club.

"I'm a…phony?" Tamaki was, most likely, ready to cry real tears at this point. It was definitely a harsh blow to his psyche.

"Just what I said. You're phony!" The girl pointed her finger in his face. "I find it hard to believe that someone like _you_ is the prince character of this host club! You shouldn't go spreading your love around so easily, stupid! You must be a dim-witted narcissist! You're incompetent! You're a commoner! _You're disgusting!_ "

Tamaki flailed around with every insult, and after the final one, he began to fall to the ground in slow-motion—defying all laws of physics.

"By any chance, are you…"

"Kyoya-sama!"

The girl ran, used Tamaki as a springboard, and threw herself into Kyoya.

"I've wanted to meet you…my one and only Prince Charming!" She cooed, tears of joy collecting in the corner of her eyes.

Everyone—including Kyoya—was baffled.

"I'll…inform the guests that the club is over." Nanako murmured, swiftly turning on her heel and heading over to the closest group of ladies.

All she had to do was mention a club emergency and the girls were more than willing to leave without complaint. It took about five minutes before the room was clear, but when it was Nanako placed a cup of rose tea in front of the girl whose name they had all yet to learn.

"My name is Renge Hoshakuji. I will be transferring into Ouran Academy's 1st-year Class A tomorrow."

Nanako stared in bewilderment at the girl. Renge said she flew in from France yesterday and had all of her belongings sent over in the span of that same day. On a whim, the girl uprooted herself and came to Japan to see her apparent ' _fiancé.'_ The look on Kyoya's face said that he knew nothing about this girl or the engagement—and that was extremely out of character for him.

Kyoya struck Nanako as the kind of person who would like to know everything that is controlled before it happens rather than at the last minute.

It was definitely a red flag.

Renge continued on to say how she 'fell in love' with Kyoya when he was smelling flowers and helping an injured kitten…

Another red flag.

"Do you think you might have the wrong person?" Haruhi asked, on the same wave-length as Nanako and everyone else.

"No way! I could recognize my love anywhere!"

Everyone was confused.

"He looks like the star of the popular dating sim, _Uki Doki Memorial!"_

The puzzle was complete.

Renge was a fangirl who placed her expectations of a fictional character on someone who looked just like him.

She was delusional.

"I'm not a psychologist, but I know enough to inform you guys that she's delusional." Nanako glanced at the girl who was now flying about the room with hearts in her eyes and talking to herself about her wedding day. "She sees Kyoya as a fictional character. Because he must look like the spitting image of him, she's expecting them to be the same person when we all know he's not—no offense."

"In short, she's projecting infatuation onto me and has deluded herself into thinking that we're engaged," Kyoya explained.

"So she made it up?" Tamaki asked, trying to get a better handle on the situation.

"Well, I don't remember asking for her hand in marriage. Besides, this is the first time I've ever met the woman."

 _I doubt he'd choose someone like her to marry…_ Nanako thought.

Renge swiftly planted herself next to Kyoya in the blink of an eye.

"According to my research you're in charge of managing the club, is that true, Kyoya?" She asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"That's right! Kyo-chan is the director!"

"Really? That's perfect!" She clasped her hands together. "All right, I've decided! I'm going to be the Host Club manager!"

 _What?!_ Nanako's mouth dropped open.

She felt the unfamiliar twinge of annoyance growing in her abdomen as well as on the back of her neck. Normally she had no problem with other people, but if the person was rude, prone to lying, or paid no attention to the wellbeing of others—which seemed to be the route Renge was taking—she could feel the annoyance growing on her.

She didn't want to have to _'politely_ ' explain to her that she was annoying, but she had the feeling Renge would eventually cause her to do it—despite the fact that Kyoya asked everyone to be polite to her.

Nanako didn't see herself as a mean person, but sometimes her feelings get the best of her and words come out much harsher than intended.

Breathing deeply, she rolled her cart of dishes out to wash them and left with her lips pursed.

She didn't' want to let anything slip that was more than unsavory.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"You look angry! Who's got you riled up, Nana?"

Nanako's father placed a chair down in front of the lounge chair she had been in since she finished her homework and starting thinking about the otaku again. He straddled the chair, crossed his arms over the backing, and placed his chin on his forearms.

"I'm not that angry." She muttered, only to have his hand fly to the space between her eyebrows and rub it in circles.

"Your brows are knit so close together that it looks like a unibrow… although I think you could pull it off."

She cracked a smile.

"There you go." He returned to his original position. "So tell me, who's annoying?"

It took a minute for her to open up, but she figured it was better to get it off her chest instead of holding it in.

"Okay, so I'd like to call myself an organized kind of person, and anything that's suddenly sprung on me is kind of unnerving. Today there was a girl who stated that she had flown in from France the day before on a whim and was now transferring to Ouran into the class I'm in because she wanted to be with her 'fiancé', but that's not the worst part!" She held up her hand as she saw the confusion begin to appear on her father's aloof facial features.

"The worst part is that her 'fiancé'—who is the VP of the club, by the way—isn't really her fiancé. She's created a delusion only to her because he looks exactly like a dating simulator character that she's madly in love with, and she's projecting that infatuation onto him, and I just feel really bad for him because I would hate to have someone believe I'm a fictional character when I'm nothing like that character.

"Out of nowhere she decides that she's going to be the manager of the host club even though we don't need one because we don't have any managerial duties that exist, and not to mention if she changes anything—which I gather she will because she harshly critiqued our president on his performance as the 'prince character of the club' when she first got there and severely hurt his feelings by doing so—she'll make changes to everyone except her 'fiancé' because she believes he's this perfect human being that can do no wrong.

"What if she starts changing everyone from who they are and then she tries to change me and thinks that I don't fit the club because I don't serve a purpose and she makes me leave when I still have so much to do there and I feel so at home with them and I'm not sure I'm going to make it through the year if I'm not in that club and-!"

"Nana, _hey!_ " Her father hopped up out of the chair and cupped her face. "There's no need to cry, Nana."

Was she _crying_?

"I can see how frustrated you are. I've had first-hand experience with people coming in and trying to change everything I do, and I've had times where I doubted my abilities because of it, but you want to know something, Nana?"

She sniffled and nodded.

"People who don't accept what you have—who _you_ are—aren't worth your time. So if this girl tries to change you into something you're not, you have the option to put your foot down and tell her that you're going to stay the way you are, regardless of what she thinks because it's _your_ life and nobody else's. I don't tell you how to live your life, your mother… well, we won't talk about her, but _I_ don't."

He produced a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped her eyes.

"I've never once forced you to do something. I've always asked if you wanted to do things before I put you in them. I know you can make decisions for yourself because you are a beautiful, upstanding young lady, and someone someday is going to be lucky to have you by their side—and I could care less about their appearance, financial status, even their gender! You are your own person, and I believe in you."

She stared at her father, a kind man who holds a lot of wisdom, and then she began crying for a different reason.

He was everything she wanted in a parent.

"Why are you crying now?!" He asked, pressing the cloth under her right eye.

"Because I love you!" She blubbered, trying her best to keep herself from sobbing loudly.

"Nana…" Tears formed in his own eyes and he embraced her.

It was…

"I love you, too!" He cried, laughing through his tears.

 _Warm._

* * *

 **Hello, everyone!**

 **I want to cry because the father-daughter relationship feels are so real right now. I hope you feel better after hearing his words of wisdom, because I know I need those sometimes.**

 **I really want her father to be there for her and be her best friend because it's really what Nanako/Alexae need, and I hope you're as happy with that as I am because I _love it!_**

 **We're just zooming through episodes now! By the end of next chapter we will be moving onto episode 5- can you believe it?!**

 **Also, I know how frustrating people like Renge can be, and even though Nanako is relatively nice, she can get frustrated by others as well, and it really shows in this chapter as well as the next one.**

 **I hope you're enjoying the story as much as I do! I enjoy writing it.**

 **I'll see you guys next chapter!**


	9. Stand Your Ground

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Nine: Stand Your Ground

* * *

Nanako was noticeably different the following day.

Aside from the fact that she had curled her hair for the first time and wore it freely to school, she had a different kind of pep in her step that made her look even more attractive than she already was, and it didn't go unnoticed.

Many of the girls who regularly attended club activities complimented her and even invited her to eat with their groups at lunch.

Overall, Nanako would call it a wonderful day.

The club did not have activities today; instead, they opted to have a meeting to discuss the current situation.

Nanako sat contently next to Kaoru.

"I thought about it last night, and I think having a lady manager might not be a bad idea." Tamaki began, crossing his legs across from where Nanako was.

"Why do you say that?" The twins asked in unison.

"It's fairly obvious, isn't it? Renge just transferred into the same class as Haruhi, so if Haruhi has a girlfriend around, it could bring out the female within her. Renge's girlish air of tenderness might be able to stimulate Haruhi's own sense of femininity."

Nanako raised her hand.

"And am I not a girlfriend to Haruhi?"

"Well, yes, but your girliness is the same as Haruhi's and isn't as impactful as Renge's would."

Nanako's eyebrow twitched.

She was slightly less than content.

"Hey, everyone!"

Nanako felt okay.

"You'll be happy to know that your new manager, Renge, has baked all of you some cookies!"

Tamaki instantly got up and trotted over to her. "Oh, isn't that ladylike? I'm so moved by your generosity!"

"I didn't make any for you, you phony prince."

Nanako felt a pricking sensation in her abdomen and neck.

 _She said she made cookies for everyone, but Tamaki is not included. Right. How nice of her._

The prickling soon turned into tingling as it spread into her chest and up the backside of her head. Her dress was becoming crumpled in her white-knuckled hands that were collecting more fabric with every passing minute.

She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep on a content face.

 _Breathe. It'll be over soon. She'll leave and everything will be okay._

"Except for Kyoya, every single one of your characters are lukewarm!"

Nanako could hear the gears in her head beginning to grind—or maybe that was her teeth?

"Each of you needs to have some kind of dark side, do you understand? Girls are vulnerable to handsome young men who are troubled! If you keep carrying on like this it's only a matter of time before the girls get tired of you and stop coming all together! Are you trying to ruin my precious Kyoya's business?!

"As manager is it my duty to change each of your character backgrounds."

Honey became the baby-faced thug while Mori became his childhood friend flunkie.

The twins became basketball players that are enslaved in their own world.

Haruhi became an honor student who is constantly bullied.

Tamaki became the school idol with an inferiority complex.

"Lastly, Nanako!"

 _It's Morikawa. I don't know you well enough for you to address me like we're friends._ Nanako thought bitterly as Renge stared at her.

"I've observed enough to know that the girls are just as interested in you as they are the other hosts. You have no depth! You're going to be the clumsy maid who yearns for praise because her parents never gave her any."

Renge turned back to Kyoya after spewing her final decisions and commented on how perfect he already was.

Nanako felt like she was suffocating. Her throat tightened. Her stomach churned.

She needed to leave.

Swiftly, she crossed over to the backroom, closed the door behind her, and pulled a chair into her dressing room.

As soon as she sat down, she sucked in a shaking breath of air and shoved her face into her coat to stifle any noises that might have come from her mouth.

She wasn't sobbing, but she felt her eyes fill up with tears as she tried to pull herself back onto her feet. Her father's words looped in her mind, but it didn't seem to help at all because what she was feeling wasn't about the change.

It was about the truth.

Nanako's mother, she felt, had never given her any kind of praise for anything she did. From dancing to memorizing lines to impress her, nothing seemed to make the woman proud. Perhaps she was just apathetic, but even if that was the case she would have acknowledged _something_ good in the past fifteen years of Nanako's life.

In Alexae's life, her parents seldom praised her for things other than achieving high marks in school. Other than that, they never seemed to notice or listen to her achievements. They were always focused on themselves.

It was so wonderful to have _someone_ who was proud of you, even if he was fictional. She needed someone to believe in her, to encourage her to be her own person, to laugh and joke with her and actually care for once about her wellbeing.

Now, for Renge to throw something so _insensitive_ at her without any regard to how she might feel, it made her angry, frustrated, and sad.

You didn't need to have a dark side to be liked by others. The girls would never get tired of the club because everyone in it was so nice— _including her!_ They actually cared enough to ask about her day outside of the club. They actually cared to have lunch with her.

They actually cared about her well-being.

Nanako lifted her head from her coat.

She didn't need advice from someone else on how to live her life to get more appreciation! She didn't need Renge to tell her who to be!

She had to put her foot down, just like her father had told her.

"Nanako?"

Because she wasn't expecting anyone to come in, she shrieked and fell out of the chair, clonking her head on the wall as she did so.

"Are you okay?"

Nanako moved her legs from the seat of the chair onto the floor. "I'm okay."

She took the hand that was extended out to her and was gently pulled upright onto her feet.

"I saw you leave," Kaoru stated.

 _He seems to notice a lot of little things._ Nanako thought as she looked at him.

"I was upset, but now I'm better." She said bluntly.

"What were you upset about?"

"The truth."

He wasn't expecting that.

"I don't yearn for praise, but my mother didn't appreciate anything I did to please her growing up… so I took Renge's insensitive statement personally, and it made me really upset." She sighed. "However, I needed some time to breathe and I thought of my father's words of wisdom and began to feel better."

"Is that why you looked so happy today?" Kaoru asked.

She nodded.

"I'm glad you moved past it. Most of us are annoyed at this point."

"I felt like she was going to make unreasonable changes just by the way she critiqued Tamaki yesterday. I just got that vibe from her." She picked a few pieces of hair from her coat before putting it on with a little help from Kaoru. "I don't think anyone needs to change, if I'm being honest, and I also don't think the girls will ever be bored of the Host Club. There's no other club like this in the school, and the kind of practice you guys follow is good for them."

Kaoru held the curtain aside for her. "Practice?"

"Everyone in the club is so nice to the girls, and they always give compliments and encourage them to do things they like… Not to mention all of you guys are different, so there's always other choices if you do need a break from your current host… It's very refreshing, really." Nanako explained, wrapping her scarf around her neck and tied it in a bow.

"That's a relief." He sighed and watched her rummage through her bag. She pulled out her cell phone, checked it, and then slipped it into her pocket.

"Thank you for coming to check on me," Nanako smiled at him, and he stifled a laugh. She blinked in surprise. "What?"

Kaoru explored with laughter. "Your cheeks look so chubby, I'm sorry!"

Nanako blushed and immediately pulled her scarf up over her mouth. "I'm naturally chubby! Don't be mean!"

"I'm not trying to be mean, you looked so cute, I couldn't help it." Kaoru wiped his eye and froze.

Nanako was staring at him, her dark eyes wide and her mouth (although barely visible by the new height of the scarf) was open. Her face was as red as a cherry, and he noticed what he had said.

His face turned equally red, if not more.

Neither of them said a word as they stared at each other in shock and embarrassment.

"I'm…cute?" Nanako asked, her voice significantly higher than normal.

Kaoru nodded. "You looked cute with chubby cheeks, and with your hair curled today…But it's not just today, I think you look good every day."

Nanako's heart was beating out of her chest.

"Thank you." She looked down.

The door swung open. "Kaoru, we have to go, our driver is waiting for us."

The two looked at the intruder.

"What's going on?" Hikaru asked, trying to figure out what was happening before he opened the door.

"Nothing," Nanako picked up her bag and jogged towards the door. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Have a nice evening." She bowed quickly and went on her way.

There was a moment of silence before Hikaru asked his brother what had happened.

"She was upset and I wanted to make sure she was okay."

"What was she upset about?"

"Renge."

Hikaru knew that feeling too well.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

 _How did we get roped into filming a movie?_

Because Nanako hadn't gotten the chance to speak with Renge all day—their classes never seemed to line up outside of homeroom—she didn't have the opportunity to explain her viewpoint on the situation.

When she _did_ get the chance to speak with her (just after giving the members of the club—minus Kyoya—the scripts they were going to be using), Renge didn't listen to her and instead got sidetracked by the Hollywood director on what kinds of scenery she believed was best for each scene.

Nanako was currently downing her seventh bottle of water in an attempt to sooth her burning soul.

"You look like you're frustrated,"

Nanako looked Haruhi in the eyes and exhaled a strained breath.

"I'm frustrated and angry that she didn't even listen to what I had to say."

She squished the bottle and tossed it into the trashcan before snatching another bottle and drinking half of it.

"You could probably find her before your scene and explain it to her," Haruhi suggested.

Nanako opened her mouth to reply, but Haruhi was called for her scene and had to leave.

Emptying the bottle, she grabbed another and drank all of that before finally feeling uncomfortable.

 _Talk about getting water-logged…_

She took her script from the table and looked it over.

Her character began by cleaning up spilled tea from the floor and apologizing almost inaudibly. When she was done, she was supposed to wipe her forehead and look around for anyone to praise her on how good of a job she had done by cleaning up the mess; however, there was no one around and this causes her to cry.

The voice over—Renge—goes on top of Nanako's acting, but Nanako never looked at it until now.

"A heart that yearns for the attention of others—to be praised for a job well done. How can she accept others if she cannot accept herself? How can others accept her if they do not notice she's there? _"_

 _You have got to be kidding me!_

She wanted to rip the script into a million pieces.

"Nanako!" Renge's shrill voice caused the hairs on the back of Nanako's neck to stand up.

Nanako turned around after rubbing circles in the space between her brows—hoping her frustration would not show on her face as she approached the manager.

"Renge, I think we need to talk,"

"Talk about what?" She asked innocently.

Nanako held up the script. "About my scene,"

Renge frowned. "If it's anything to do with your character, I'm not changing it."

"No," Nanako protested, "it's-!"

"How about we try acting out the scene before making any changes. I think this is going to be a good run!"

"Renge,"

"If it doesn't work out well, I'm sure I could tweak something like adding a romantic interest,"

" _Renge_ ,"

"Or give you a dark secret that you hide from everyone!"

" _RENGE!_ "

The atmosphere around the two grew cold.

"You're not listening to me! I've tried to explain this to you, but you don't seem to understand what I'm saying, let alone show any sign of actually caring." Nanako pointed the script at her. "I'm not comfortable doing this scene. I'm not comfortable with _you_ creating a character for _me._ I'm _not_ a character, and even if I was I wouldn't let you change who I am. You're not my keeper. You don't control who I am. I'm very upset that you have disregarded my feelings as well as everyone else's— _including_ Kyoya-senpai." Nanako took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm not your personal dating simulator character. I'm not doing this for you." She handed the script to Renge and walked away.

Seeing as Renge didn't go after her or say anything else, Nanako assumed she got her point across.

Her next goal was to have a chat with Kyoya about the girl and ask him to do something. He was the only person who could.

After having a brief chat with him about Renge's disregard for the well-being of the members of the host club, he finally decided to handle the situation, and just in time, too.

Renge _hadn't_ learned her lesson, despite everything Nanako had said to her and was planning to showcase Tamaki seconds away from beating up another student.

Kyoya smashed the camera lens with a rock.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow there to be any record of a club member engaging in violence. I think you've caused enough trouble around here Renge. Please stop being such a pest."

 _Thank you, Kyoya!_

"A pest?" Renge began to cry. "But you're supposed to pat me on the head and tell me not to worry. You're supposed to be kind and affectionate, Kyoya! Why are you acting so differently now? Tell me why!"

"Because that's not the real Kyoya," Tamaki stated.

Renge turned around and dropped to her knees.

"Does it really matter? Who cares is Kyoya is a little different than what you expected him to be. Take a look at the person inside and get to know them little by little. It's more fun that way."

Nanako stared at her friend.

Haruhi was truly a wonder.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Several days later, the members of the host club found out that the film they made had been produced and purchased by many patrons.

Kyoya, the mastermind behind it all, cut out the violent part but left everything else.

The weirdest part of the day, though, was when a certain someone showed up out of nowhere (again).

Renge had returned from France, and she was now going after Haruhi.

 _She doesn't listen to anyone, does she?_

* * *

 **Hello, everyone!**

 **If you couldn't tell, Nanako was extremely frustrated with Renge-and I was too when I had to write for this episode. She means well but man... she is frustrating.**

 **Aside from that, we see something slightly more than friendship happening with Kaoru and Nanako! Ooh, how nice. I'm enjoying it, and while it may or may not develop into a romance, I wouldn't mind them being very good friends.**

 **After all, we're still destined to meet someone else~**

 **Did you guys forget about the childhood friend that was mentioned in chapter one? It's okay, I only mentioned him once...on purpose.**

 **I can't tell you when we'll be seeing him, but it's going to be a fun time.**

 **Who knows what will happen!**

 **Thank you for reading this chapter! I appreciate all the support you guys give me, even if you don't verbally tell me.**

 **I'll see you all next chapter!**


	10. Kiss and Make Up

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Ten: Kiss and Make Up

* * *

"You look out of it."

Nanako blinked. Haruhi picked up a small portion of rice and shoveled it into her mouth.

"Do I really?" Nanako asked, bringing a hand up to her face in shock.

"Well, I can tell," Haruhi stated.

Nanako pursed her lips. She didn't realize how easily her feelings showed on her face.

"My mother came home for several hours yesterday, and instead of doing something productive, she decided it was best to lecture me about my recent choices, my outfit, and how irresponsible my father is." Nanako frowned as she recalled her mother's strict face.

That woman was the last thing Nanako wanted at the end of the day.

Haruhi watched her friend's eyes disconnect with the conversation. She was out of it again, and Haruhi thought it was better to let her think it out.

Nanako did well at calming herself down…most of the time.

When club activities rolled around, Nanako seemed better, but she was definitely still out of it. Haruhi decided that, if she wasn't back to normal at the end of the post-club meeting, she would have to talk to her again.

 _What's her deal anyway? Does she have to be so inconsiderate?_ Nanako thought as she swept the floor near one of the windows.

Hikaru and Kaoru were playing the 'Which One is Hikaru' game.

 _She came home for, what, three hours? And the entire time she lectured me on how to dress?_

Nanako turned her dark eyes towards the window and squinted.

 _There's more to life than showing up flawless to school, mother._

The twins were now explaining the merit of having two twins in the club with homosexual tendencies.

 _Why does my appearance matter so much? Why doesn't she want me making decisions on my own? I am a grown woman!_

Nanako rocked her head from side to side in disagreement with her thoughts.

 _I mean… I guess I'm only, what, sixteen? That's not really an adult._

Tamaki was currently furious at the thought of Haruhi posing nude for the website.

 _I guess if I'm not an adult then she_ _ **does**_ _have some right to say what I do…Then again, father is letting me do whatever I want and supports me the entire time! So why should I listen to her?_

Nanako straightened her back and furrowed her brows at her semi-visible reflection in the glass.

 _I am under the jurisdiction of my father because_ _ **he's**_ _the only one who seems to care. I can't see why she dislikes him so much._ Nanako clenched her fist. _I don't understand why she complained to_ _ **me**_ _about him! I like him as a father. He's probably the best father I've ever met—even though he can be a little airheaded…and silly… and mentally deranged, but that doesn't matter!_

Haruhi was told that she was a toy.

 _He's a nice guy, and if they got divorced, I would be completely happy with getting a stepmother who is nice, loving, and actually_ _ **cares**_ _about other people's feelings… I wonder if they'll ever get divorced…?_

Tamaki was now explaining how he was cursed at the end of the previous year because of Belzenef the puppet.

 _I wonder if I can feign surprise if it happens._ Nanako gasped. _"A divorce? That's insane!"_

Nanako shook her head and tried again.

 _"You're getting divorced? But what about the love you two have shared over the years?"_

She tried several more times.

 _I don't think I'd be shocked if mother filed for divorce… I wouldn't put it past her._

The twins asked to come over to Haruhi's place on the next day off, to which she denied.

 _Mother is so… conceited. She believes her way is the only way and everyone else is below her… I wonder if she acts like that when she's working?_

Nanako brushed the debris into the dustpan and took the remnants to the back. When she returned, the twins were going head to head in a heated argument.

"Who are you calling an idiot? _You're_ the one who sucks at math! And no amount of help from Morikawa is going to help your grade!" Hikaru argued, staring daggers into his brother's eyes.

"At least she's nice enough to help me out when I don't understand something. I don't see you asking for help in foreign language! That's probably why you're failing!" Kaoru retaliated, baring his teeth in anger.

"The way you grind your teeth is deafening."

"I don't toss and turn so much that I fall out of bed."

"Sex pixie!"

"Sicko!"

" _Your mamma wears too much makeup!"_ The two yelled in unison and then broke apart; Kaoru began to walk towards the back room while Hikaru headed for the door. "That's it. We're through!"

Their argument had climaxed, and their friendship was over.

Nanako stood and watched as Kaoru stormed by her and slammed the backroom door behind him.

It was silent, but then the girls began whispering about the situation. Tamaki politely sent the girls home for the day.

Nanako found herself wandering to the back to talk to Kaoru. She closed the door behind her and made her way over to the table where Kaoru sat spinning his phone on its corner.

"Are you alright?" She asked, her dress fluffing up around her legs for a second before she brushed it down.

Kaoru debated telling her the plan but decided against it.

"I don't know. I feel bad for saying those things to Hikaru, but I also don't feel bad because he started it. All I did was laugh because Haruhi's reasoning was funny."

"Well," Nanako began as she stared at his spinning phone for a few seconds too long, "I'm not sure why something so little started such a huge fight… But I don't think you should let Haruhi's comment come between you two… I'm sure she didn't mean for it to hurt feelings." Nanako didn't exactly know what had been said, but whatever happened was obviously pretty bad, and she didn't think Haruhi would have any ill intent behind anything she said—unless she was really angry.

Kaoru stared at Nanako. "I see your point, but even if I apologized, Hikaru isn't going to accept it right away because he's so stubborn… and I'm not ready to forgive him just yet." He stood up and slipped his phone into his pocket. "Thanks for coming to talk to me. It means a lot…really."

He kissed her forehead and left the room.

Nanako gathered her things quietly.

 _What just happened?_

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Nanako-sama, you have a guest waiting for you."

Nanako had a toothbrush in her mouth and her uniform half on when the head maid had come in.

"Oh, okay, I will be down in a few minutes."

The maid bowed and left without a sound.

 _Who's here this early in the morning?_

After brushing through her hair, rinsing her mouth out, and dressing completely, Nanako entered the foyer and gasped when she realized who was waiting.

" _What did you do to your hair?!_ " She rushed up and immediately reached for Kaoru's cotton candy blue hair.

"I dyed it so people can tell Hikaru and me apart." He clarified with a smile.

"Okay, that makes sense…but what are you doing here?" She asked, pointing to the ground.

"I figured we could go to school together."

Nanako wrinkled her brows.

 _This is surreal. I must still be dreaming._

"Okay, I'd like to wake up now." She laughed and waited…and waited… and waited…

"This isn't a dream…" Kaoru laughed awkwardly.

Nanako blushed in embarrassment. "Oh."

"Yeah…"

The two shifted uncomfortably. "We should probably…"

"Yeah."

Kaoru took her hand and pulled her to his limo.

The car ride was a little awkward at first, but once they began to warm up to each other, they arrived laughing and joking.

As they neared their classroom their conversation turned serious because they both knew that they would be seeing Hikaru, and after the fight… anything was possible.

They definitely weren't speaking to each other, Nanako knew that much, but she wasn't expecting them to throw everything in sight at each other right before homeroom…. And again at lunch…

Kaoru had decided that he wanted to avoid Hikaru by not going home until later that night, so he informed Nanako that they would be hanging out and working on math at her place until he felt it was safe enough to return home.

Neither of the twins showed for the club meeting.

"It's weird for Hika-chan and Kao-chan to be fighting like this. It's never happened before." Honey moved the arms of his bunny, Usa-chan, while he spoke with a solemn look on his face.

"They've never fought before?"

Honey explained that, even though he's known them since preschool, he never saw the two separated from each other, let alone be in a fight.

Tamaki noted that, since he had known them in middle school, they had been a little odd, and used to be even more bizarre then.

"It seemed like they kept everyone at a distance except each other…When you stop and think about it, maybe this fight is a good thing for them. Maybe it means the world the twins live in is getting a little bigger. We should just leave them alone and let them work it out."

 _I guess Kaoru has talked to me more… and Hikaru to Haruhi… Hopefully, things will be resolved when the tensions between them simmer down._

Nanako met Kaoru outside and they rode to her home peacefully. She spent a good portion of the first hour tutoring Kaoru in math while she did her own homework, and when they were both finished, Nanako decided to make dinner for the two of them, despite the head maid and chef's words.

"What is your favorite simple food?" She asked, tying an apron around herself. Kaoru leaned on the counter and thought.

"Simple, huh?" He hummed as he observed her tie her hair into a messy bun. "How about pancakes?"

She nodded. "Can do. I am the pancake baking master."

"Oh, are you really?" Kaoru asked, not believing her bluff for a second.

"Really really," She looked at him seriously. "Do you not believe me?" She asked as she dropped a container of pancake mix on the counter.

"I believe you can lie pretty well." He retorted, handing her a bowl and a whisk.

"Well, the master of pancakes takes offense to your completely reasonable accusations." She laughed. "I'm not a master, but I do know how to make a pretty good batch of pancakes."

They spent a good half hour goofing around and occasionally throwing and wiping flower on each other before eating their meal. They had to clean up their mess afterward, but it was fun while it lasted.

The next hour was spent walking around outside and chatting while the sun began to go down. Nanako vented about her mother and Kaoru vented about Hikaru, although not as extensively as the former did. They talked about likes and dislikes, what they liked about school, how many names they could rattle off for customers, and they also talked about where they wanted to go if they chose to travel.

Surprisingly, they had a good portion of things in common.

After the sun set, they found themselves out on the terrace down the hall from her room and staring up at the night sky.

"Today was fun," Nanako sighed and scooped a spoonful of strawberry ice cream into her mouth. "I really enjoyed talking to you for so long."

Kaoru agreed. "I usually don't get to talk to other people for this long because I'm always with Hikaru. It's…nice." Maybe it was the fact that he seemed interested in her rather than everyone else, but he liked spending time with her, especially when he couldn't spend time with Hikaru.

"It's good to know that there are a good handful of people in the world…that I want to talk to, that is." They laughed together.

"Are you…going to apologize to Hikaru soon? I think this fight has been going on long enough…"

Kaoru was silent. He didn't know how long their 'fight' would go on for.

"Soon."

"That's good. I hope you guys can make up and go back to how close you used to be." Nanako crossed her legs.

"I hope so, too." He watched her eat the last bite of her ice cream.

"I can feel you staring at me…" She murmured, looking at him from the corner of her eye.

"I know."

"What are you thinking about?" She asked, turning her head towards him.

He knew what he was thinking, he just didn't know if she would accept it. He heard a voice in the back of his head say, " _Why not?_ "

So, he did what he was thinking.

And he kissed her.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

The club didn't open the following day, and the members found themselves staring at another casualty of war.

"Don't you guys think you should give up all this fighting? It's driving me insane." Tamaki held his head. Of all the witnesses, he was probably the most visibly frustrated with the relentless fighting.

"What did you say? It's driving you insane? How do you think I feel right now?" Hikaru, the more frustrated of the twins, stared coldly at Tamaki. "Every time I look in the mirror I see his face! I'm sick and tired of being mistaken for you, Kaoru. The truth is I hate your guts!"

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Kaoru reached into his blazer. "Because I hate you so much, I bought this: Belzenef, the curse doll!" He proceeded to pull the wooden doll out of his jacket and showed it to his brother.

Tamaki jumped in fear.

"I'm going to complete the curse, Hikaru. I'm going to write your name on his back."

"Oh, that's not good," Nanako mumbled, raising her hand to her mouth. She didn't expect this to happen, especially something so malicious.

Curses shouldn't be taken lightly.

"From this day forward, you're going to be met with misfortune and sorrow!"

Haruhi rushed forward before Kaoru could complete the curse and slammed her fist on both of their heads.

"What do you think you're doing? You don't bring something like this into a petty fight! Both of you are at fault here, but what's sad is that you've brought everyone else around you into your big mess. Now, apologize to each other! If you don't apologize right now, I'm never going to let you come over to my house, have I made myself clear?"

 _And this is Haruhi when she's angry… I'll remember never to get on her bad side._ Nanako thought.

The twins stood up together. "So, what you're saying is that if we make up we can come over to your place?"

They hooked arms, and suddenly, Nanako knew what was going on.

"We've been had." She sighed.

It turns out they had been faking it the entire time, just following a script they had come up with. In retrospect, all the fighting was a little obnoxious, yet she was fooled the entire time.

She wondered if the script was still followed when it was just Kaoru and her.

The following day during club activities, Nanako watched from afar as they played the 'Which One is Hikaru' game with their patrons. Their hair colors were still fluorescent, so it was easy to tell them apart…

Or so she thought.

Haruhi said they swapped hair colors for the day, something Nanako didn't pick up on.

Nanako looked at Haruhi as she walked away and then glanced at Kaoru, remembering something he had mentioned in their heart to heart before the sun set.

She smiled.

 _I'm glad there's someone there for both of you._

"Nanako-san!"

Nanako turned with a bright smile on her face and walked over to a group of giggling girls.

"What can I do for you, ladies?"

* * *

 **Hello and welcome back!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! From fighting to bonding to a kiss?! What a crazy episode!**

 **I'm surprised I finished this episode in one chapter, to be honest. It's probably because everything happened so close together instead of so spread out, but I'm ready for the next chapter!**

 **And I just remembered it's the little boy... What am I going to do...?**

 **In any case, I want to further explain Haruhi being the only one to enter the twins' world:**

 **Nanako has only started becoming a part of Kaoru's world, not Hikaru's; Haruhi, on the other hand, has entered their combined world, therefore making her the only person who has come into the twins' world and not just one of their worlds.**

 **I hope you're okay with the one kiss. I know it seemed like they think nothing of it, but that's how I feel Nanako would handle it. She's not the type of person to dwell on a kiss for days and days just to have a reason to avoid someone. As far as she thinks, it happened and she's happy with it. It's not a huge deal.**

 **Well, I'm off! I hope you're having a wonderful day! Thank you for your continued support. I appreciate you reading this story and having some fun with it! I will see you guys in the next installment!**


	11. Wholehearted Love

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Eleven: Wholehearted Love

* * *

Nanako bit the inside of her cheek as she looked over the answers on the makeup test. She had studied for hours the last two days, but for some reason, the answers to the last section of the test evaded her.

She knew she had studied it, but why wouldn't the answer come to her?

"You have ten minutes left," Her history teacher stated, continuing to grade her stack of papers.

Nanako put her pencil down and closed her eyes. If she gave it a moment and tried not to think about it, it would come to her. She had a reasonable amount of time to think it over.

"Five minutes left,"

Nanako took several deep breaths and suddenly she knew the answer. She snatched her pencil and scribbled down the answers before she ran out of time.

"Times up,"

Several pencils dropped to the desk while a few of the other students who had taken the time to retake their most recent exam groaned.

"I was so close…" Nanako heard a boy say to her right.

They got up and promptly turned their tests into their teacher.

"I'm thankful that some of you took advantage of this opportunity to better your grades. It shows me that you are a dedicated group of people." She bowed and left the room, leaving the remaining students to loiter and chat about the test.

Nanako knew she wouldn't have made it to club activities that day, so she was thankful she had informed Kyoya about her academic choice to take the test after school. He didn't seem too enthused, but he did state that academics come first. It was a relief to know that money wasn't the only thing that ran the machinery in his head.

She exited the room and headed for her locker to change out her shoes.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Nanako closed the door to her room and sighed, tossing her bag on her desk chair just before flopping down onto her plush bed.

Several silent minutes ticked by before she felt her bed dip down next to her head.

When she looked up, she was surprised to see Nova sitting in pedestrian clothing.

"Hey," Nova's lips turned upwards in an awkward smile.

Nanako pushed herself up and returned her greeting with a small smile.

"How have you been?" Nova asked, smoothing down the comforter, and scooting herself farther onto the bed.

"I've been… pretty good. Balancing work and the host club was kind of difficult for me at first, but it's definitely gotten easier." Nanako replied.

"That's good…" Nova trailed off.

Another minute slipped by before Nova began speaking again.

"I'm sorry about your mom. I really didn't know she was… I mean she looked so nice." Nova scratched her arm. "On the bright side, your dad is a hoot. He's really entertaining to watch."

Nanako nodded. "I like him, even if he can be a little silly." Nanako laughed lightly.

The last conversation she had with her father involved his insight on what the best kind of pie was. Long story short, he ended up crying over how he couldn't choose a favorite pie as well as the fact that his most liked pie was Nanako's least favorite.

"If you're wondering if I forgive you… I do." Nanako pushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "I was upset at the time, but not at you. I was upset because of the way my mom treated me—let alone looked at me. She looked like she didn't want me."

"She couldn't have…"

"I know what it looks like, Nova. It's not the first time someone has looked at me like that."

It occurred to Nova that, while she knew some things about Alexae, she didn't know as much as she should have. She knew next to nothing about the girl she was monitoring over the course of the season.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

Alexae's polite demeanor shined through Nanako like a beam. It was a coincidence that she had gotten to be a part of someone who was like her in many ways. Nova was glad that Alexae fit into the world that she hadn't asked for.

Nova was glad that she was learning about the world, as well as other people, through the Host Club.

While it worried Nova knowing that something was happening between the younger twin and her wisher, she couldn't bring herself to tell the girl that it probably wouldn't matter in the end. She would eventually be returned to her own world while this world resets itself.

The girl's feelings wouldn't disappear with this version of the world. She would end up heartbroken.

That wasn't something Nova felt appropriate to talk about yet.

She had warned Alexae before that staying in the world has never happened, so Nova hoped that the girl would take that to heart and make nothing out of the relationship.

"I'm going to head out. I just wanted to pop in and check on you because I know adjusting hasn't been easy. You're almost a quarter of the way through the season, though! Keep up the good work and remember to enjoy your time here."

"That sounds like a sales pitch." Nanako cracked a smile.

"I guess you're playing the demo of a new life…" Nova laughed. "Okay, well I'll see you around!"

And in the blink of an eye, Nova was no longer there.

It took a minute before Nanako hoisted herself off her bed and sat at her desk to do work on her homework.

It had taken about an hour to work through her math problems, fifteen minutes to eat by herself, and then another hour to finish English.

The buzzing of her phone took her out of her post-homework daze. She reached over to her bag and fished it out. Flipping it open, she opened the text message she had received from Kaoru.

 _You won't believe what happened during club hours today!_

She felt a smile creep onto her face before dialing his phone number and putting her yellow phone to her ear.

" _Hello?"_

His voice was music to her ears, even if it was a little different through the phone.

"Okay, Kaoru, I'm intrigued. What happened at the Host Club today?"

He explained to her that an elementary student had come into the club just before they opened and practically demanded that Tamaki, quote unquote _the King of the club,_ be his teacher.

" _It was a little concerning to watch that title float to boss's head. That kid had no idea what he did to him. The entire time boss was being over the top with_ everything _, more so than usual. Then again, he_ was _supposed to be an Arabian king, so it only enhanced his performance."_ Kaoru explained, getting a laugh from Nanako on the other side.

"I can't say I was all that happy to miss today, but secretly I'm glad I did. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

" _I'm sorry you didn't get to wear the outfit we had for you._ "

"I'm sure Kyoya will make me put it on so you and Hikaru can take pictures to put in my photo book… I guess I'm kind of popular amongst the girls, although I don't see it." She sighed. "Fun fact: I always imagined girls to be catty and prone to jealousy, but these girls are some of the nicest people I've ever met."

" _They are. Every time we switched girls one of them always asked where you were. It wasn't just Hikaru and me either. Every other host was asked at least once about you."_

"Really?" Nanako asked, her eyes wide in surprise.

" _Really. They really care about you. I'm sure if we offered you as a package you'd get a lot of requests."_

"I'm sure." Nanako rolled her eyes. "I'm not a host, though. I wouldn't know what to do."

" _I'd say it's fairly easy. For you, I would recommend just talking to them and getting to know them. There's a lot of interesting girls who come through."_

Nanako was silent.

" _Nanako?"_

"Huh? Sorry, I was thinking."

" _That's fine. You're going to be there tomorrow, right?"_ He asked curiously.

"Of course."

" _Oh, and how did your makeup exam go?_

Nanako explained that she had studied multiple times that day as well as days before the makeup exam just so she could get a better grade on it. She felt like she only missed three questions, but she would see just how well she did when she got the test back.

" _I'm happy you feel better about this test. I know how bummed you felt when you got the first one back."_

"Thank you. I care a lot about academics."

" _I know you do. I like how committed you are. It makes me want to always do my best as well."_

"Especially in math?"

He laughed.

" _Especially math."_ He thanked her for her help on the last few assignments as well as making the lessons easier to understand and conceptualize. There was something about the way his teacher taught that didn't quite click with his learning abilities.

The two didn't hang up until they were both in bed and practically falling asleep. The lulls in the conversation, although quiet, were still peaceful. It felt okay that they weren't speaking all the time. It felt comfortable.

"Goodnight, Kaoru."

" _Goodnight, Nanako._ "

Nanako gently closed her phone, placed it on her nightstand, and rolled over in her bed.

She went to sleep with the biggest, brightest smile on her chubby cheeks.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Tamaki's apprentice called his current patron a carp.

Nanako practically dropped the cup of tea she was pouring for the girl.

 _He did_ _ **not**_ _just say that._

Tamaki tried to fix the kid's mistake, but it only ended in disaster, causing the girl to run off with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, you can't just say whatever you're thinking without actually thinking about the repercussions it could cause." She scolded, setting down the cup of tea on her cart and pointing her finger at him. "You really hurt that girl's feelings because you were tactless."

"How are you going to blame a kid for learning? I came here because I want to know how to talk to girls, meaning that I don't know how to be tactful yet." Shiro shot back, staring at Nanako with hard eyes. "Who even are you? You're not part of this club."

Nanako opened her mouth to retaliate but swiftly closed it.

She was not going to fight with a kid.

Although, seeing the way he continued to insult every member of the club, directly and indirectly, maybe she should've continued to fight with him.

Her mouth dropped open when she witnessed him drop a tray of teacups onto the ground, shattering them all.

"It's not my fault, you know. It's _your_ fault for making me do it."

Nanako was extremely happy to watch the boy be put in a cage—or _isolation,_ as Tamaki so politely put it.

She decided to step in and scold him more when he began acting out and pulling on the bars of the cage. "Stop that, right now. Tamaki made you his apprentice out of the goodness of his heart and you're beginning to squander this opportunity with your bad behavior. If you really want to be a host, you better start taking this seriously."

He stared at her coldly. Who was she to scold him?

"I am serious. Seriously serious! I want to be a host!" He yelled. A moment later he was on his knees with tears in his eyes. "Please, I don't have any time. Show me how!"

He rambled on, and although Tamaki seemed unmoved by Shiro's speech, he was especially moved when the boy called him a genius.

"Tamaki, no," Nanako warned, knowing that the kid's slightly better behavior wouldn't last.

Ignoring her, Tamaki approached the cage. "Well, you may be sassy, but your plea to become a host does seem genuine. You remind me of me, in some ways."

"So, you'll teach me how to make women happy?" Shiro asked, his spirits lifted.

"A host that can't make women happy is no host at all. Of course, you'll be using our material to your advantage."

"Material?"

Kyoya explained that the host club offers packages by type.

Tamaki, the princely type.

Mori, the wild type.

Honey, the Lolita type.

The twins, the mischievous type.

Kyoya, the cool type.

And with the newest addition of Haruhi, the natural type.

Nanako briefly wondered what her type would be. Perhaps something along the line of _everyone's friend_ or something that dealt with being there for others like she seems to do for some of the girls outside of club activities.

If she had to pick a name, maybe the friendly type. Or the best friend type. Or the family type.

Any one of those seemed to work for Nanako.

"Lukewarm. It's lukewarm!"

The sound of a powerful motor echoed through the room and much to Nanako's dismay, Renge appeared on top of a rising column.

Nanako placed her hand on top of Honey's head, which was shoved into the ruffles of her uniform. Her senior was definitely distraught at the thought of losing his position as Lolita to Shiro. "There, there…" She mumbled.

"To think the Host Club is so lackluster in character analysis. I'm a little bit dumbfounded."

"Renge, how would you go about working with the material he already has? We already the Lolita type covered by Honey-senpai." Tamaki moved out of the way to show the senior clinging to Nanako's skirt.

Renge explained that there are different types of Lolita's, and the path their newest member would be taking was the naughty type.

While Nanako was happy that Renge could think of another 'type,' she was less enthused to see that her tendencies had not changed. She dove headfirst into training the kid and pushing all the expectations of a 'naughty-boy type' onto the poor kid.

In the end, he ended up running away.

"How selfish. He didn't even take a liking to the lessons he was given."

Nanako placed another plate of cake in front of her sullen senior. "It's not entirely because of selfishness," Nanako said, turning her head towards the club. "Instead of just teaching him tips and tricks of the trade, Renge pushed him to be someone he's not and he got upset because of that. Sure, it may seem helpful, but forcing someone to be something they're not usually doesn't end well. I know this from experience."

"I agree," Haruhi added, taking this chance to explain what she had noticed. "Plus, didn't you hear what he said? He mentioned not having enough time… I wonder what that meant. And he also mentioned a girl."

Nanako didn't even notice that.

"Maybe he has a crush on someone?" She mused, bringing her teacup to her lips before remembering about the shattered set on the ground.

"I forgot about the tea set!" She panicked. She rushed towards the area and proceeding to sweep up the pieces and mop up the tea.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

The following day, the club decided that it was a good idea to infiltrate the elementary building and find Shiro.

Tamaki also thought it was a good idea to dress Haruhi in the middle school uniform and a wig that looked identical to her hair before she came to Ouran. Additionally, Honey was put in the elementary school uniform so Haruhi wasn't alone.

Nanako saw it as an opportunity for Tamaki to see Haruhi in a skirt.

After following the others into Shiro's classroom, she found herself staring at the back wall that had many framed pictures on it. In one of them happened to be Shiro sitting at a grand piano with a cute little girl.

"The classical music club…"

Shiro looked happy. Upon closer inspection, the girl in the photo seemed to be equally happy, if not more as she stared at Shiro.

 _I wonder if this is the girl he has a crush on?_

The club wandered down to the music room and, sure enough, the classical music club was meeting. Shiro was approached by the girl in the photo, and after a brief interaction, she walked over to the grand piano and began to play an upbeat piece.

Nanako was in shock.

It was insane that this girl was so young and play the piano so well.

When Shiro came out and yelled at them for being there just after the club learned his crush was moving away, Tamaki put the boy over his shoulder and hauled him off to the third music room.

Nanako turned to the two girls who were staring at Shiro's tantrum and bent down to meet their level. "Shiro-chan is going to be fine. We just need to talk to him and he'll come back in no time."

With a polite smile, Nanako scurried off to join the group on their trek back to the high school campus.

Tamaki dropped Shiro onto the couch, immediately causing the boy to lash out in anger.

"What do you think you're doing, you idiot king?!"

" _You're_ the idiot." Tamaki retorted without hesitation. "You said you wanted me to teach you how to make women happy, but it's not a number of women—you want to make one girl happy, Kamishiro Hina, isn't it?"

Shiro looked shocked.

"You're the only one who can find out how, right? As hosts, it's our job to make the girls happy, but the truth is, when it comes to a single girl that you like, you must not face her as a host, but as a man!"

Nanako's mouth opened.

 _Say what you will about Tamaki being an idiot, but he's really insightful when he wants to be._

"It's not a full-fledged host that you want to become, it's a full-fledged man, isn't it?"

Shiro was quiet. "It doesn't matter anymore. There's no time. I just wanted to see her play as much as I could before she left. That's all."

Nanako didn't know how much more shock and surprise she could handle that day. Ten feet from her sat Tamaki as he flawlessly played what she assumed was another part of the piece the girl was playing earlier.

It was truly incredible to meet so many talented people.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

It took an entire week of intensive practice with Tamaki before Shiro could invite Hina to the third music room.

They were going to play the piece together, which was very romantic when you thought about it.

Nanako combed her hair back into a slick ponytail and applied a shiny layer of gloss to her lips before exiting the back room and heading towards the door. She was wearing a white dress shirt, brown vest, red and yellow diagonally striped tie, a cream-colored tail coat fitted to every curve, and a matching brown pencil skirt that ended just above her knees. She wore nude tights and black flats that, to her, made her feet look much smaller than they actually were (which made her happy).

"It fits you very well," Kaoru commented as she approached. He was smiling at her from ear to ear.

"Thank you. You look very handsome." Nanako felt her neck heat up.

Kaoru chuckled and lifted her collar up. "I'm starting to wonder if there's anything you can't pull off."

She snorted, hitting his chest lightly. "Shut up."

Unbeknownst to them, Haruhi stared at her friend. It was obvious to her that Nanako liked Kaoru a great deal, and it was even more obvious that Kaoru thought the world of her. Haruhi hoped the two eventually worked out because they seemed like a good fit for each other.

Kaoru needed someone outside of Hikaru and Nanako needed someone who cared for her.

"It's 3:00 everyone! Places!"

Nanako and Kaoru stood next to each other in the line, and although it took a second, Kaoru's hand quietly found hers and held it tightly.

 _Wholehearted love._

Watching two kids in love play a beautiful piece was the highlight of Nanako's day. It looked like a scene right out of an anime… although, in retrospect, it really _was_ a scene right out of an anime.

Kaoru's hand rested on her hip, her shoulder just fitting below his arm.

She was content. She was comfortable.

She was happy.

* * *

 **I have returned from a brief hiatus with an abundance of chapters!**

 **Over the last few weeks, I've been spending most of my free time researching for a paper that's was due this past week—and even now the final product is not officially due until the semester comes to a close. It's a lot of hard work researching and writing, and all of that really killed my mood to write freely.**

 **In any case, it's Thanksgiving break and I don't have any homework, so I'm spending my free time covering all sorts of chapters! My goal is to get to episode 12, or maybe even the beginning of Karuizawa before I go back to school and take another brief hiatus until the 15** **th** **.**

 **Thank you for your patience. College can be kind of stressful (it all depends on the classes to be completely honest).**

 **Did you know that the suits the club wears at the end of this episode are the same suits they wear at the Ouran Fair? My soul cried when I realized this. I had to take a break from writing to ease my heartache.**

 **I also cried thinking about the romance going on between Nanako and Kaoru. Honestly, I love their friends before lovers thing going on and it makes me really happy and excited to read and write their interactions. That's how you know you're doing a bang-up job with your story—when you enjoy reading and fangirling over relationships you create.**

 **I really hope you guys are enjoying them… Kanako… Naoru… Kana… Nanaru… All cute pairing names. I like them. I also like calling Nanako 'Nana' because it makes her sound adorable.**

 **Thank you for reading this chapter and my ramble at the end for extra juicy info on what I've been doing. I appreciate your support! Please leave a review so I know how I'm doing!**

 **I'll see you guys next chapter!**


	12. Water Resort Panic!

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Twelve: Water Resort Panic!

* * *

Nanako stared at herself in the mirror from the side. Her hands roamed up towards her chest but quickly receded to her sides.

She was a tall girl with a small pair of breasts and a chubbier than average body. Luckily, she wasn't disproportional; a lot of her heavier features were placed in ideal places that gave her enough curves to look good as well as feel good in her own body.

The swimsuit she was given made her feel even more confident.

Clad in a navy blue halter one piece with a ruffled square neckline, ruching around her abdomen, and a scattered pink flower print across a full skirt that covered her entire bottom, she felt comfortable.

Precisely splitting her hair down the middle of her head, she twirled and twisted each side into a bun that sat neatly near her neck before donning a sunhat and exiting the changing room.

If her head hadn't been directed downwards, Nanako would've tripped over a red-faced Tamaki who was on the ground.

"Sorry," She muttered before sliding by and heading towards the water.

As soon as she stood at the shoreline, she stared down at the clear blue water. She didn't know what temperature the water was at, and if was any colder than she expected, she would probably never get into the water, despite how much she wanted to.

She slid off one sandal and delicately hovered her toes above the water. She took a deep breath and dipped her toe in.

"Thank goodness." She breathed, bringing her foot back to her and slipping off her other sandal. However, before she could take one step in the water, the twins rushed past her and somehow managed to splash her all the way up to her waist.

She squealed.

"Sorry, Nanako!"

"You were going to have to get used to the water eventually, so why not now?"

Nanako couldn't hide the glare she sent their way.

"I like to ease into cold water, not jump right in! Now I'm going to be cold!" She picked up her sandal and threw it at them. Hikaru caught it and tossed it right back.

"Well then get in the water!"

She huffed and shuffled out into the water with her arms crossed and shivering over her chest.

Kaoru grinned at her as he held the beach ball in his arms.

She only let the water get up to her thighs before stopping.

"It's too cold!" She cried, clutching her arms as she shivered from the difference in temperatures.

"It's not cold, Nanako," Kaoru replied

"Yes, it is! You're already used to the water." She pointed her finger at him and then returned to her original position.

"We just got in the water." The twin said in unison. They shared a look briefly before a mischievous grin crossed their faces.

As soon as they locked eyes on her, Nanako knew she was in trouble.

"Don't touch me!" She shrieked as she turned around and tried to get out of the water before they caught her, but she didn't make it out in time. They had caught her at the edge and lifted her up in a two-person bridal style. "Put me down!" She struggled as they carried her deeper and deeper into the water to a point where her rear grazed the surface. She yelped when she felt the cold water nip at her bottom and stood stark still, trying not to touch it.

She looked Kaoru in the eyes and tried to plead with him. "Please don't do this to me."

"You said to put you down," Kaoru said eerily.

"So, that's what we're going to do." Hikaru finished, just a little more devious than his brother.

Swiftly lowering their arms, she fell several inches into the water, yelling, before being picked back up.

"You two are horrible!"

"Again!"

She screamed as she was dropped back into the water and lifted back up.

"Stop!"

"Again!"

They did this several more times before she pushed herself out of their arms and fell in completely.

Her head shot up out of the water with a loud gasp and sputter. She snatched her wet sunhat and proceeded to smack both twins with it. "You're so mean!"

After her beating, she reluctantly agreed to throw the beach ball around with them for a while before they all exited the water and ended up talking to Haruhi.

Haruhi explained that she would rather be studying than being at the resort, which was understandable because Nanako knew she had to keep her grades up to keep her scholarship.

Haruhi also explained why she was wearing a cover-up, which was weird to hear. Apparently, Tamaki gave it to her because 'women shouldn't show that much skin until after they're married,' but looking at Nanako, who seemed to have a similar style of swimsuit, made Haruhi question the real reason behind the cover-up.

If Nanako could wear a swimsuit, why couldn't she? (Although, it wasn't like she wanted to anyway.)

"So, you're not going swimming?" Hikaru asked as he finished eating a banana.

"By any chance, can you not swim?" Kaoru wondered, causing Haruhi to sigh and turn her head.

"I can swim as well as the next guy, but I'm just not interested in a place like this. I'd rather go home than goof around here and go swimming."

"I'm sure that's okay. I wouldn't mind if you went home if that's what you really want." Nanako encouraged, touching her friend's shoulder with a smile.

"Thank you, but I wasn't the one who drove here. They kidnapped me."

Nanako swiftly turned her head to look at the twins only to have them look in directions away from her.

"What's so great about this overblown facility anyway? A baby pool is all you need if you're playing in the water." Haruhi mentioned with the nod and vocalized approval of Nanako.

"Baby pools are good for lounging in, too."

"Baby pool?" The twins asked, confused as to what the two meant by it.

"Oh, um…" Haruhi looked at Nanako for a moment before trying to explain what a baby pool was. "It's about this big," Haruhi moved her arms in a sideways oval shape to help them get a picture of how big it was, "and you pump it full of air."

"Idiot,"

"That's called an airboat."

Nanako laughed awkwardly. They obviously didn't get it.

"How can something that small be considered a pool?"

"It's like a pool for little kids and toddlers. It's not a pool for swimming, but more for splashing around in… or lounging if you want to get a tan." She clarified, murmuring the last part to herself.

Tamaki swiftly yanked the twins away from the girls and started scolding them.

"There's something that's been bothering me, boss."

"Why did you make Haruhi wear that pullover?"

Nanako was curious to know, too.

"Do you think that it might be because he doesn't want any punks besides himself to see Haruhi's skin or something like that?"

"Oh, is that so?"

"I mean, he didn't give Nanako a pullover, so what's the difference? If it's just for Haruhi, that would be quite underhanded of him, huh?"

"It would be pretty disgusting, all right."

Tamaki, with his face as red as a tomato, started flailing his arms around in an attempt to explain why he did it. "You idiots! As her father, it is only natural, being her guardian, that I would do so. After all, even if it is a swimsuit, it's not right for a girl to expose her skin so openly in front of boys."

Nanako couldn't help but feel slightly offended at his statement.

"Am I not considered girl enough for you to give me a pullover?" Nanako asked, staring up at him with her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed.

Tamaki became even more flustered. "N-no, that's not it at all! Haruhi is my daughter and—?"

Nanako, Kaoru, and Hikaru were all pointing at Haruhi who was standing not that far away.

When Tamaki looked at her, his soul left his body.

"Haru-chan! Do you want to swim in the current pool with me?" Honey asked as he latched onto Haruhi's arm.

"No, I'm not swimming today…Huh?" Haruhi noticed that the senior was wearing a ring around his waist. "Honey-senpai, do you not know how to swim?"

Honey shook his head. "It just looks cuter this way." He posed for a second and then smiled at Nanako. "Do you want to swim with me, Nana-chan?"

Nanako didn't really want to swim that much, but she couldn't say no to the adorable senior who was giving her large, puppy-dog eyes. "Sure, Honey-senpai." She took a few steps forward before turning back to Kaoru and handing him her sunhat. "Watch this for me, please." She smiled and trotted off.

Nanako expected the current pool to be something like a lazy river, however, when she got close, she noticed that it was a little faster than what she would consider 'lazy'. She even stuck her arm in to test the strength, and it was definitely stronger than she would have wanted. Regardless, she took a seat on the edge and stuck her calves in before hopping in entirely.

All she needed was an inner tube to lounge in and she would feel at ease.

"Nana-chan, do you want a tube?" Nanako turned her head towards the senior and nodded.

"I would like one. Do you have another?" Honey tossed her a powder blue inner tube with baby chicks printed on it. "Thank you, Honey-senpai!"

"We look cute together!"

Nanako laughed. "We do!"

 _He's acting extra cute to cement his place as the Lolita. What a smart move._

She pulled the tube over her head and used the edge of the pool to hoist herself up enough so she could put her legs on top. When she did so, she flopped down onto it and held the edge so she wouldn't float away.

Several relaxing minutes passed by before she noticed Honey swimming against the current by himself. She smiled, hopped back into the water, and floated over to him.

"Do you want me to hold your tube so you can take a break from swimming against the current?"

"Sure!"

Their tubes bumped together lightly as she stood still in the water, leaning back slightly to compensate for which way the current wanted to push her.

Slowly, she noticed something different with the way the water was moving. It began to slow down, and right after she noticed that she felt her stomach churn.

 _Something isn't right._

Honey opened his eyes and looked at something behind her. At the last possible second, she had to turn around, a huge wave of water slammed into the side of her head. Her feet slipped out from under her and she couldn't tell left from right or up from down.

In fact, she didn't know which way to swim for air, and that was the scariest part.

 _I'm going to drown!_

The current was pushing her swiftly down the pool and she felt her flailing appendages scraping against a bumpy surface.

Her chest began to burn. Her movements became a little more frantic.

She was panicking.

 _I can't breathe!_

She had to find some kind of grounding, but every time she tried to push her legs out to find a surface she felt nothing.

Her chest was on fire. She couldn't hold her breath anymore and her mouth opened, water flooding into it and beginning its descent down her throat.

 _I can't…!_

Something pulled her from the water. Her lungs filled with air and her eyes watered. She coughed and sputtered as she hit the warm concrete.

"Thank the heavens!"

Nova turned Nanako onto her side and hit her back roughly several times. The girl vomited water and hit the ground several times before clutching her stomach.

"I thought I had lost you for a second. I saw you go under and then I couldn't see through all the irritation and I was so worried you were going to die!"

Nanako breathed heavy before lifting her head, her hair half out of the buns and whipped around her face in the most unflattering way. "Honey-senpai… Where's—guh!" She coughed again, her eyes watering from the sheer force of it.

"He's fine, don't worry," Nova said quickly. "Are you okay?"

"Okay? I almost drowned, Nova. That was _horrifying_."

Sure, she had tried to hold her breath under water several times before, but she was never forced to keep her head under… although there was one time where she almost didn't make it up to the surface aside from this time.

"I should've warned you but it slipped my mind. I mean I knew it was going to happen but I thought you were going to get out before it happened—or not even do it at all! I'm so sorry, Alexae!"

Nanako held up her hand. "It's not your fault." She said simply as she rose to her feet. She looked around and noticed that she was nowhere near where she used to be. "Do you know where the club is?"

Nova looked around for a moment and then shook her head. "I'm not sure… I'll be right back."

While Nova was off looking for the group, Nanako checked out her damages. There were a few minor scrapes here and there, but there was a long gash on the underside of her forearm. It wasn't bleeding yet, but it did burn a lot more because of the chlorine in the water.

Nanako leaned forward and let her hair down. She raked through it with her fingers and twisted it into a sloppy bun before lifting her head back up.

"They're over that way, but it's going to take a while before you get to them. I'd recommend heading in that direction because that's where they're going." Nova pointed to Nanako's right. "If you need any other help just call me. I'll be there in a jiffy!"

Nova disappeared before Nanako could thank her.

Sighing, Nanako began her walk towards where she hoped she would run into the group.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Kaoru was visibly distraught.

Correction, only Haruhi saw that Kaoru was visibly distraught. To everyone else, he looked just as worried as they did about their missing club members; however, Haruhi knew better than to assume he was worried about them equally.

He probably was worried just as much as everyone else about Honey, but he was ten times as worried for Nanako.

Haruhi glanced at her friend's sunhat that was being held tightly in his right hand. Occasionally he loosened his grip and turned it around to look at it, but for the most part, he kept it locked in his hand.

Presently, the host club members had taken refuge under a moderately sized hut to protect them from the squall. It wasn't long after Haruhi encouraged Mori-senpai when she realized that she should probably say something to Kaoru as well.

She walked over and sat next to him. "Nanako's going to be fine. She knows how to navigate. I'm sure we'll find them soon."

Kaoru's grip on her hat loosened.

"I know she's fine but… I don't know. I still feel off. I mean, that wave hit her on the side of her head. What if she got disoriented and couldn't figure out which way to swim? What if she…" Kaoru paused and shook his head. "No, she's fine."

He turned his head to look out at the jungle. Haruhi pursed her lips for several seconds before opening her mouth to say something; however, her voice was cut short by Kaoru's silent actions.

He hopped out of the opening between the roof and the flooring and dashed off towards something. It took a moment for her to see that it wasn't something but _someone._

Kaoru had seen her. He didn't _how_ he had seen her through the thick downpour, but he did. Something tugged at his heart telling him she was there, and sure enough, when he saw her—her golden hair and aquamarine eyes, her chubby cheeks, her above average height and weight—he couldn't stop himself.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet. She squealed in delight as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm so glad you're okay," He whispered, putting her down on the ground and brushing loose strands of her wet hair out of her face.

"I'm so glad I didn't die. I was so scared. I couldn't find the surface for a long time and I thought I was going to drown." She felt tears form in her eyes at the thought of dying but they were quickly wiped away before they could fall down her cheeks.

Kaoru choked out a laugh. He was thankful she had returned to him.

Her hands pulled his face down to hers and she gently pressed her lips to his. Kaoru responded immediately, almost like this was the last time they were ever going to share a moment like this. It was tender and sweet, and a little desperate (but she _did_ almost die _,_ so that was to be expected). They parted and she held him close.

The scariest part about dying was thinking about the people you were going to leave behind.

When they returned to the hut, Kyoya had informed his family's private police force about the incident, Tamaki was fuming, Hikaru was relentlessly teasing his boss, but Haruhi and Mori were nowhere to be seen.

The new group began to trudge on in search of Honey, Mori, and Haruhi now that Nanako had been found. It took a good half hour before they found all three people, along with a chunk of Kyoya's police force knocked out on the ground.

Apparently, Honey's family specialized in their own martial arts. Honey was nicknamed 'the dreadnaught of the Haninozuka family' and by the scene splayed out before her, Nanako could see why.

She convinced herself to never baby the senior again… or get on his bad side.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

They decided to call it quits for the day. The sun was beginning to set as they neared the entrance, spreading a gorgeous orange light across the entire retreat.

"We should go to the beach next, to clear the mood."

"The beach would be nice."

Nanako nodded. "I love the beach. The sun and the sand… although I think I'll go without bodies of water for a while." She laughed at her joke, but she was serious about avoiding bodies of water.

She didn't want to risk another accident.

"You idiots. Haruhi wouldn't be interested in that." Tamaki stated.

Nanako looked over her shoulder. "How would you know if you don't ask her?"

Haruhi thought about it. "I don't think I'd mind if we went to the beach. This place is fake, so it's not that fun, but the beach would be better. It's prettier."

"All right! We'll go to the beach next!"

Nanako clapped her hands together. "Yes! We can play beach volleyball and collect seashells… I can't wait!"

* * *

 **I guess I'm in a romance mood. I'm sorry guys, I just can't help it! (I blame The Office... too much Jim and Pam)**

 **At least it's not a constant barrage of 'hey let's make out and kiss and touch each other' because that can get old really fast. I like that Naoru is kind of conservative about being interested in each other. They act more as friends than they do as love interests, which is nice because you get to see how close they really are. You can also see that she has warmed up to Hikaru outside of what you've been able to see. I'd say that Hikaru has noticed a change in his brother—a good change. Kaoru has become a little more open and a little kinder now that he's spending time with Nanako.**

 **I personally loved writing this episode. There were so many paths I could've taken, but I thought the one I chose was the best one. There's original scenes as well as original dialogue, which is always a plus when you're following a show/manga. If you steal other people's lines… that's not creative at all!**

 **In any case, I'm excited about the next few episodes because so much interesting things can happen! Are Kaoru and Nanako going to become even closer? When are they going to start dating? Are they going to go on a date anytime soon? Those are all good questions that may or may not be addressed in the future chapters (although I assure you they most likely will be).**

 **Friends first, love interests second. They're taking it slow, but you can really see how much they've grown to care about each other.**

 **Every day is a new day of learning about each other, and I hope that you guys enjoy their interactions as much as I do! (I know I've probably said that several times already, but hey, what are you gonna do when you are fangirling over romance?)**

 **I'll see you all next chapter!**


	13. Beach Volleyball

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Thirteen: Beach Volleyball

* * *

"So, why Okinawa?"

Nanako wiggled her toes in the soft sand. The twins had chosen a swimsuit—a purple and white one piece—that had been designed by their mother. While the purple of the swimsuit was cut down to where her navel would be, the white underneath covered a large portion of her chest up so she wouldn't show anything unsavory. She carried a large bag filled with various items—like deflated tubes and beach balls, sunblock, disinfectant, bandages, and two water bottles (one frozen and one filled with iced water)—over her shoulder and had a white wrap tied around her waist, covering a large portion of her legs from the sun.

Her hair was Dutch-braided into pigtails and tied off with ribbons. She felt classy, which wasn't much of a stretch as she observed the variety of swimsuits of the host club girls scattering up and down the private beach.

"Kyoya's folks have a private beach here."

"It's beautiful here, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"It really is. The sand is incredibly soft."

"But if we're going to go somewhere, why not the Caribbean? Or Fiji?"

"Do you think Haruhi has a passport?"

"Ah."

"Thank you for being so considerate."

The host club members—mainly Kyoya with the additional mandate by Tamaki—had decided to go to the beach with their patrons. Another day to themselves wouldn't earn them money, and they really needed it to stay on track with funding for their future endeavors.

Nanako had created fliers and given them to every girl as she made her rounds for the previous week and a half, making sure that they were aware and excited to go on a trip with their favorite hosts.

The host themselves had set up shop doing a variety of things:

Tamaki had opted to spend one-on-one time with his princesses on a rock not that far from the shore, staring out over the horizon at the seemingly endless ocean. He was, by far, the most popular host for the day with his line accumulating more than twenty girls.

The twins were playing an easy game of beach volleyball with their regular two patrons (two girls who were extremely interested in the taboo nature of 'forbidden brotherly love.'

Mori and Honey were doing a variety of stretches and poses with their normal girls.

Kyoya was keeping track of the time for Tamaki's line of women.

Haruhi was sitting under a large umbrella without anyone around; although, to be fair, her guests were roaming around on the beach looking for seashells and splashing around in the water.

Nanako was currently laying on a towel next to a girl who showed up to the club on Tuesdays at precisely 4:45 every week. She was a stickler for punctuality and organization and was also part of the fine arts club.

"I usually don't go to beaches. I don't quite like the ocean." Nanako tilted her head to look at Meiji. She had her thin arms wrapped around her knees, her grey eyes directed out towards the horizon. She wore a pink halter top with brown shorts, her short, curly black hair was pushed back with a large pair of sunglasses.

"Why don't you like the ocean?" Nanako asked, pulling her own sunglasses down a smidge to get a better look at the girl.

"There's too much salt. It really dries my skin out. Plus, I'm more worried about all the feces and urine in the water." She shivered. "It makes me feel sick thinking about swimming in excrement."

Meiji was not only a stickler for organization and punctuality, but she was also neurotic when it came to cleanliness.

"That's understandable," Nanako mentioned, sitting up and turning her full attention towards her company. "Normally I would be in the water right now, but I had a bad experience with water recently and now I'm a little afraid to go in."

Meiji looked her in the eyes for several long seconds.

"My brothers tried to drown me in the pool on several different occasions when I was little."

Nanako didn't know how to reply.

"I'm sorry." She murmured, hoping it was the correct response. Meiji seemed to accept it as she turned back towards the water.

"What I wouldn't do to put their heads under the water..."

"What do your parents do for a living again?" Nanako asked, wondering if her family had any ties to, say, the yakuza.

"My father is a psychiatrist and my mother is a data analyst."

That sounded innocent enough.

"My two oldest brothers run a debt collection agency and my third oldest brother is an information broker. Between you and I, he tends to strictly deal with yakuza men."

It was definitely time to go.

"Okay, then." Nanako patted Meiji's leg and stood up. "I'm going to play beach volleyball now."

Meiji made a disinterested noise and lowered herself down to her towel. "Good luck with that."

It took less than ten seconds for Nanako to create a large distance between herself and Meiji.

 _That was the strangest conversation I've ever had with someone—especially a guest!_ Nanako glanced back at the girl to see her holding a stray crab by its arm. _She is the strangest person I've met so far._

"Morikawa-san! Do you want to play beach volleyball with us?" It seemed like a small group of five girls had gathered with an actual volleyball. Every girl in the group, if Nanako remembered correctly, participated in one sport or another—although she was fairly sure three of them belonged to the volleyball club.

The girl in question slowed as she got near the net. "I'd love to play. Fair warning: I'm very competitive."

The head girl smirked. "That's good. We didn't want to play an easy game."

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Hah!"

"I got it!"

"Be careful, Aiko!"

"Naho!"

"I'm on it!"

The game had gathered a small crowd of girls who were watching in awe as the intensity of the game grew with every passing minute. The game was best out of seven points, but the score was only 3-2.

They had been playing for at least fifteen minutes.

Everyone gasped as the ball barely cleared the net and began to quickly decent towards the ground.

"Morikawa!"

Quick on her feet, Nanako dived onto the sand and just barely reached the ball in time; however, she wasn't able to get it high enough in the air for it to be returned.

"Yes! Another point for the gold team!"

The crowd clapped.

"It's okay, Morikawa. We still have time to make a comeback."

The returned to their positions, but as soon as the gold team was about to serve, a lot of girls began to scream about a centipede and ran in different directions away from the source—which seemed to be Tamaki and Haruhi.

The girls didn't calm down until they saw Haruhi throw the creepy crawly over the rock that separated one side of the beach from another.

"Morikawa, watch out!"

When Nanako turned her head back to the game, she was immediately hit in the face with the volleyball.

It hurt, but she felt fine otherwise.

"Your nose is bleeding!"

Nanako shook her head. "Let's keep going!"

She was extremely determined to win now.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

By the time the sun had begun to set, the group of six had played three long, intensive games.

Nanako's forearms were red and incredibly tender. She was okay with being on the losing team. At least she had fun doing it.

During her time with the girls, she had learned all their names and some basic information about them.

Aiko was a second year in class B. While she enjoyed playing sports—specifically track and field—she loved science. Her parents are both biomedical engineers and her love of all things science comes from them. She was quiet, but she loved spending time with her friends.

Naho was a third year in class A. She was also part of the track and field club, but her interests lied in fashion. Apparently, her parents weren't as enthused about her decision to pursue a career in it, but they still appreciated her drive nonetheless.

Mio was a promising first year in class C. She had been accepted into the premier volleyball team based on her experience and skill in the game. She mentioned playing since she was eight and has been playing it in clubs ever since. She was the rowdiest of the bunch, making sure her team called out who was going to get the ball as well as giving them warnings.

Shizue, belonging to class 2-A, was the second highest ranking volleyball player on Ouran's team. While she loved to talk about sports, she also liked talking about international issues. It was probably due to her family's political background, but she did mention her love for true equality.

Lastly, there was Arisa. In class 2-A, she was the highest-ranked member of the volleyball. Like Mio, she had dedicated a large part of her life to the sport. Nanako would say the girl practically lived, breathed, and ate the sport from how serious she was during the games. She was a nice girl and was definitely the girl to beat.

Nanako, while she had gotten to know some of the girls who frequented the club, wasn't able to really get to know them like she did these girls. It was amazing that, after playing three consecutive games of beach volleyball, you could meet so many wonderful girls.

Nanako squeezed her water bottle onto her neck and patted it dry when she was done. It wasn't extremely hot, but being engaged in a physical activity for several hours elevated her body temperature out of its comfortable zone.

"Morikawa,"

Nanako looked to her right to see Arisa standing several feet away from her. She had let her dark hair down sometime after the game, but Nanako was surprised to see how long it actually was. While her own hair rested peacefully under her breast line, Arisa's hair reached her lower back.

"Hey, Arisa."

Her senior had the volleyball wrapped in her arms in front of her. "Thanks for playing with us today. It was really nice having someone just as competitive as we are."

Nanako smiled. "It's no problem. Although I don't think I'm going to be able to feel my arms for a few hours…maybe days."

Arisa snorted and then followed up with a boisterous, bubbly laugh. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm also sorry for sending the ball into your nose earlier. It wasn't right for me to play when you guys were distracted."

"Oh, no, I'm fine! You're fine, really. I would've done it, too." Nanako smiled brightly at her.

Arisa looked down at her feet and then back up. "I was talking to Shizue and Mio, and they thought it would be great to have someone like you on the team." Arisa held up her hand to stop Nanako from protesting. "I know you spend your time at the host club, but hear me out. You're _really_ good. Your competitive nature and sportsmanship is something else. We'd have you try out to get a feel for the team, but I'm sure the other girls would love you just as much as I do—er, we do."

Arisa could tell Nanako was debating the idea.

"If you ever decide you want to join a sport, please put volleyball at the top of your priority list." Aris handed Nanako a piece of paper. "I'd love to see you on our team, Nanako."

Arisa walked off with a courteous wave.

 _This day can't get any weirder._

Nanako began to pack up the umbrella that shaded her stuff all day. When she was tying the umbrella up, it was then that she noticed that someone was being carried out of the water.

"Haru-chan!"

Nanako's eyes widened.

"Haruhi?!"

Nanako shot up and stumbled over to the host club members. "What happened?"

"Haruhi was pushed off the rock by a couple of thugs," Hikaru informed her as she got close.

She couldn't believe it.

"Where are they?" Tamaki asked as he exited the water. Kyoya draped his shirt over Haruhi.

"We've kept their ID cards and respectfully asked them to leave. The girls went back to the hotel. I've called a doctor. He'll be here shortly."

"Let me check for minor injuries," Nanako held out her hand to Haruhi. The latter took it calmly and Tamaki gently lowered her to the sand.

"I'm fine, really. I don't need a doctor. I'm not hurt." Nanako inspected Haruhi's arms carefully.

"Are you one of those?" Nanako dropped Haruhi's arm and started to move her face around. "Are you a martial arts master, like Honey-senpai?" Tamaki didn't sound happy at all.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this here…" Nanako trailed off as Tamaki grabbed Haruhi's upper arms and stared her in the eyes. Nanako stepped back with her lips pursed.

"How could you think that you, a girl, by yourself could do anything about those boys?!"

 _This is not good._

Tamaki was taking his worry out on her in a bad way.

"It had nothing to do with being a boy or a girl. I was there and I didn't have time to think about something like—,"

"Well think about it, you idiot! You are a girl!"

Nanako wanted to disengage the situation, but she couldn't bring herself to move, let alone say anything.

"I will apologize for making you come after me, but I can't understand any other reason for you being mad at me. I haven't done anything wrong!"

Tamaki let go of Haruhi. "You haven't, huh? Then you go right ahead." Tamaki began to walk towards the mansion they would be staying in that night. "I'm not going to talk to you until you admit you were wrong!"

Haruhi glared at his receding back.

"Oh dear…" Nanako rubbed her temple and sighed.

This was going to be a _long_ night.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Nanako stared up at the piece of paper in her hands. She had just returned from speaking with Tamaki about the situation, but she hadn't made any progress. It didn't matter how many times she explained her view, he didn't want to listen let alone change his mind.

Haruhi wasn't any different. Nanako had talked to her first, but Haruhi barely said anything about it.

It was hard being the devil's advocate.

Nanako's legs dangled over the edge of the giant bed.

 _Maybe I should call…?_

She looked at the numbers she had dialed. All she had to do was press the call button and she would be put through.

 _*knock* *knock*_

She sat up and closed her phone. Wrapping her shawl around her chest, she jogged over to her door and opened it up a smidge to see who was out there.

"Hey, it's almost time to eat. Are you coming?" Nanako opened the door up all the way.

"Yeah, just give me a second, Kaoru." She walked into the bathroom to brush through her hair. "You can come in, you know." She said, looking towards the opening of the door and waiting for him to walk by.

"Your room looks a little different than ours… Layout wise." Kaoru mentioned. They lived on opposite sides of the corridor, but it was still relatively close.

"Well, yeah. I wouldn't expect every single bedroom to be the same." She put her brush down and turned off the light before heading over to her suitcase. She pulled out a pair of strappy sandals before taking a seat on the edge of the bed to put them on.

Kaoru noticed her toenails were painted a soft coral color.

"What do you think about me playing volleyball?"

He looked at her, but she wasn't looking at him.

"If you're talking about earlier today, you looked like you were enjoying it." He saw her a few times while he was entered in the contest of trying to figure out what Haruhi was afraid of. She looked focused as she played, and she got along well with her teammates.

"I mean, like, in the volleyball club." She put her feet flat on the ground and stood up.

"Oh," He slid his hands into his pockets as he thought about her original question. He thought about it, but he didn't think he could give her an answer before they got to dinner. "Can I give my answer after dinner? I don't think I have enough time to think about it."

She nodded vehemently. "Of course! I was just curious, that's all." She placed her hands on his back and began ushering him out of the room. "I mean, Arisa-senpai was talking to me earlier and she told me I was really good and my attitude was good too and she asked me if I ever thought about being on a sports team."

Nanako slid her hands into the back pocket of her shorts.

"She also said that she would love to have me on the volleyball team."

Kaoru smiled at her. "That's great. Maybe you should try it out sometime?"

Nanako shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I'd feel bad if I quit the Host Club to play volleyball… You guys are like my family and I don't want to leave you."

"I'm sure we'd understand your choice. We're not going to force you to be here forever, you know."

Nanako laughed. "I know."

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Ta-da! The crabs are all boiled!"

Kaoru saw Nanako's face change as soon as she saw their meal placed on the table.

Her face went from content to sick in less than a second.

"I'm sorry, senpai, that there are no maids here right now."

"No, _we're_ the ones who barged into _your_ villa, Kyo-chan. Takashi, go call Haru-chan in now."

Nanako felt her stomach churn. There was something about seafood that didn't sit right with her anymore. When she was younger, she loved eating it. In middle school, however, one bad experience with watching a lobster try to crawl out of a boiling pot scared her away from it.

Seeing the crabs and then thinking back to them being alive several hours ago made her want to vomit. She placed her napkin to her nose and tried to take several deep breaths to calm herself, but it didn't seem to work.

"Morikawa," Nanako looked at Kyoya. "I informed them about your situation. They made something else for you instead."

She nodded. "Thank you, Kyoya-senpai."

Nanako preferred not to eat any kind of seafood.

"Nana-chan, look!" Honey dashed over to her with a large plate in his hands. "We made you pasta!" He put the plate in front of her.

"Thank you so much, Honey-senpai. It looks really good!"

It _did_ look delicious, and it smelled that way, too. It took her mind off the pile of crabs not that far away from her.

"It's awfully gloomy out there. It looks like it might rain." Honey commented as he looked out of the window.

"Speaking of gloomy, there's someone in here that's gloomier in here than outside."

Nanako spotted Tamaki squatted by a pillar with his head rested on his arms. You could tell he was upset, but instead of the angry vibe from earlier, it took on a sad tone.

"If you were going to mope like that,"

"Then you shouldn't have picked a fight with her."

"I already suggested he be the bigger person and apologize, but he didn't want to listen to me."

The door opened and Haruhi stood in a cute pink dress that didn't fit her normal style of dress at all.

"Wow! Haru-chan, you look so cute!" Honey beamed, smiling wide.

"Haruhi, did you buy that dress yourself?" The twins asked.

"My dad must've repacked my suitcase before I left. He's always trying to get me to wear stuff like this."

Nanako looked over at Tamaki who was now half-hidden behind the pillar, staring at Haruhi with a childish blush on his cheeks.

"Tamaki-senpai…" His blue eyes dashed over to her own aquamarine ones. "You know what to do if you want to talk to her."

They all sat down to eat, but the tension in the air really killed the mood.

Nanako twisted the noodles around her fork slowly before raising it to her mouth. Even after they began eating, the only sound in the room was Haruhi cracking the arms of the crab and eating the meat.

"These crabs taste in-crab-able…get it?" Haruhi joked, snapping open at least six more before anyone spoke again.

"Don't you think you're eating a little too much?" Tamaki asked, leaning away from the ravenous girl and staring at her incredulously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you weren't speaking to me," Haruhi replied coldly.

Nanako coughed from the sheer force of the sass. She quickly raised her napkin to her mouth and shakily reached for her glass of water.

Tamaki slammed his own napkin down on the table. "Okay, I get it. You're not going to reconsider what you've done. Fine, then. I'm going to bed. Kyoya, please show me to my room."

Kyoya wiped his mouth and excused himself from the room.

Nanako had managed to stop herself from choking and continued to eat.

"Maybe I should learn karate or something."

So it _was_ bothering Haruhi. She didn't seem to show it earlier, but now it was evident that she did care about what Tamaki said to her.

"Is that the direction your mind is going, now?"

"It's not like we'd stop you or anything."

"But that's not what this is about, is it?" The twins asked simultaneously.

Haruhi looked confused.

"To be honest, I wish you'd reconsider how rashly you acted today, too." Hikaru rested his cheek on the palm of his hand.

"Why? I didn't make trouble for you guys, did I?" Haruhi asked.

"Well, no," Nanako furrowed her brows as she spoke, trying to figure out how to sum up what everyone seemed to be feeling. "I personally wouldn't say you needed to change anything you did today, I'm glad you did what you could to help those girls, but because you didn't have anyone else with you… If someone didn't come get Tamaki, you might've drowned."

"You should say sorry to everyone, okay? And you should tell Tama-chan you're sorry for worrying him so much, too." Honey smiled at her, hoping she understood.

"You were all worried about me?"

Everyone sighed.

Haruhi was just as dense as Tamaki sometimes.

"I'm sorry." Haruhi murmured.

Seconds later, everyone gathered around her in a group hug. With all the squeezing, something in Haruhi's stomach moved and she suddenly felt sick.

She was promptly rushed off to the nearest bathroom.

Nanako finished her meal and began gathering up the extra plates of empty crab legs. The group ate through all of it, which was surprising because they had so much to begin with. She cleaned off the plates and went back out to the dining room.

"There you are,"

Kaoru watched her eyes focus on him. She smiled.

"I have my answer,"

She stopped in front of him.

"I think you should do whatever makes you happy. If that means you join the volleyball club, then do it. The others will understand. Although, I'd recommend paying back the debt first before changing clubs. I'm not sure Haruhi would like to pay back the entirety of the debt herself."

Nanako nodded. "I would hate to do that, too."

They left the dining room and ended up running into Kyoya. He informed them that Tamaki and Haruhi were currently talking it out in his room and they were heading back to check on the two now.

When they opened the door…

"You sick weirdo."

Tamaki was kneeling in front of a blind and deaf Haruhi for a reason no one seemed to understand.

"What kind of 'play' is that?"

"It's not like that!"

Tamaki was in big trouble.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"I promise next time I'll be there monitoring him." Nanako patted her friend's back as they headed for the limo that would take them back home.

"Yeah, watch out Haruhi."

"His highness has a thing for S&M apparently."

Nanako closed the door and walked around to the other side of the limo.

"It's disgusting, really."

"So, that's what S&M means… to think I let you get away with something funny without even knowing it." Haruhi rolled up her window.

"Start driving," Kyoya told the driver when everyone but Tamaki was situated in the car.

They let him run an entire mile before letting him in the car.

* * *

 **At a whopping 4,222 words, this chapter is finished! I swear these chapters keep getting longer! I still have two more chapters to go before I feel like I've earned forgiveness from you guys.**

 **I'm happy that this story isn't a straight retelling of the events in the anime. It has its own moments and original dialogue, so I hope I'm making you guys happy. I think this story is coming along swimmingly!**

 **Just a few things I want to address before this is over:**

 **Nanako's experience with seafood is based off me. I had a bad experience with staring into the eyes of a dead fish as it was being cooked and eaten that was extremely unsettling and disgusting. It's not just seafood that freaks me out; specific cuts (like a chicken breast; I can't look at the ribs) or the way it's cooked (bloody is a no-go) can make me high-tail it out of there.**

 **I like the character choice I made for Meiji. Ouran needs more strange people! Maybe we'll see her again sometime?**

 **I also like the sports girls. We might be seeing them from time to time too—especially more so from Arisa. Brownie points to the first person to correctly guess what I have in mind for her! It's ever so slightly hinted at in this chapter, so reread if you must!**

 **That's all for this episode! Have a wonderful day!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	14. Attack of the Zuka Club

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Fourteen: Attack of the Zuka Club!

* * *

Due to the cultural club exposition, there were no classes for the next two days.

Nanako's phone buzzed. Normally she wouldn't have it out, but today was special.

Mei Mirashiro and Izumi Kibe, her friends from other schools, were coming to Ouran. They were coming for the cultural club exposition—Mei for her school's choral club and Izumi for his school's theater club.

The host club also fell into the 'cultural' aspect of clubs. They had plans, but it wasn't anything extensive. They were planning to spend most of the day inside the club room and explain their club to any wandering girls who walked in. The theme was medieval, so most of the boys had decided to wear the typical knight-in-shining-armor costume. They had an outfit for Nanako if she came, but since she wasn't required to show, she got to spend her time exploring the other booths and meeting interesting people from other schools.

' _Not required to be at booth. Searching for Izumi. Planning to stop by Host Club after.'_

Mei's curt text really said a lot about her personality.

' _Okay. I'll be there most of the day. Check out some of our other clubs. They're really cool!'_ Nanako replied with a smile on her face.

Mei replied with a smiley face.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Excuse me, can you help me find the third music room?" Nanako felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned around and opened her mouth wide with a smile.

Mei and Izumi were standing behind her—the former tall and poised while the latter slouched.

"I can't believe you found me!" Nanako hugged Mei before hugging Izumi.

"We _were_ following your directions, but then I spotted your hair so we decided to surprise you." Izumi ran a hand through his curly black hair.

"He also got distracted by a few of the booths that were serving food, so that's why we were running behind." Mei sent a cold stare up towards the boy before turning back to Nanako.

Mei stood at a solid 163 centimeters. Pale skin, a willowy build, and long dark hair made her look almost ghostly. Her eyes were covered by large circular glasses that caught the glare from the sun, hiding her thin, taupe eyes. Her uniform told everyone where she was from—St. Lobelia Academy. The white sailor uniform inspired top was draped loosely over her torso, and the long red skirt covered her abdomen and legs up down to her knees.

Izumi stood next to her at a whopping 180 centimeters. His skin tone was slightly darker than Nanako's, and while he was thin, he was still muscular. He had short, curly black hair, a relatively sculpted face, and grape-colored eyes. His uniform, belonging to the best public school in the city, consisted of a dark blue sweater vest, white button-down, grey slacks, and a purple and white striped tie. He drew the attention from females of varying ages anywhere he went, although Nanako could never pinpoint why.

"I'm sure Nana wouldn't have minded if I ate, especially if I brought her food." Izumi protested, producing a bag of candies from his pocket and holding it out. "Here. I got these from the store yesterday. I thought you would like them."

Nanako took the bag from him. "Thank you, Izumi."

"So, where's this Host Club? I'm interested in what they do." Mei asked, stepping aside so Nanako could lead the way.

"Is it like an actual Host Club?" Izumi questioned. "I wouldn't see that as very appropriate if it is."

"No, they're not a _host club_ host club… They just entertain the girls by talking to them about different things. The girls really seem to like it." Nanako clarified, hoping they would understand the truth behind the club. The last thing she wanted was for them to be left with a bad impression of the club as well as how the school conducted itself.

"And you?"

Nanako nodded. "I like them. They're really nice, although they can be kind of silly sometimes." Nanako talked about some of the club's antics as well as their consideration to each other along the way. She also pointed out different room, her homeroom, introduced them to a few of the girls from the club, and they eventually made it to the music room.

"I'm shocked that you can even navigate through this giant place. I still get lost at Roka and our building is only a _quarter_ of this school."

"You _do_ attend a public school. Private schools have much more funding—especially Ouran and Lobelia." Mei noted.

"Not all of us are born into wealth, Mei. My mother isn't rich but she isn't poor either, and I'm perfectly content with our living situation." He retorted.

"Okay, there's no need to argue, guys! We're here." Nanako turned around. "I'm not sure if it's busy or empty, but there's no telling that they're doing right now, so _please_ be on your best behavior. No fighting." She warned, pointing at each of her friends.

Upon opening the door, she caught the end of a sentence from a group of Lobelia girls.

"—we cannot allow this maiden to remain in this club. We must prepare the paperwork for a transfer to Lobelia at once and welcome her into the Zuka club!"

"Oh god no." Mei groaned. Nanako shifted her gaze from the scene to her friend who was grimacing.

"Hold on a minute, please! There's been some kind of misunderstanding here." Haruhi swindled her way out of the boyishly tall girl's grip. "You called Tamaki-senpai a halfer, for one."

"Tama-chan is a halfer. He's half French and half Japanese!"

"But still, I'm not so sure about calling the host club a fledgling and picking on them on other pretexts as well."

"No, we are pretty new. We were only founded two years ago. His highness created it when he reached high school, after all."

 _Haruhi's just trying to help…_

"Saying that they're only holding club activities to satisfy their own appetites is going too far. It's not as if they're charging their guests anything."

"I wouldn't call it a charge, but we do have a point system. We do offer priority service depending on the price of the items won in net auctions on the club's homepage."

Nanako held her head in her hands.

"They don't sound like they know she's trying to save face," Mei noted, receiving a nod from Izumi.

"I agree."

"See, Haruhi? Your mechanical pencil was sold for a winning bid of 30,000 yen. Good for you."

"That's the one I thought I lost!" Haruhi cried, staring at the screen of Kyoya's laptop in shock. "This is the first I'm hearing about _any_ of this, you know! I never heard we were taking money for this!"

"Is this a bad time to be here?" Izumi asked, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "We can come back later, you know."

"I don't even know." Nanako sighed. "Maybe we should leave. This is kind of awkward and I don't want to keep you guys for too long."

"It's not a problem, really. We can go see a few choral performances… or slack off somewhere."

"I think there's a pool on the roof somewhere."

Mei didn't waste another second in the room. "I have an extra uniform in my bag. Come on, let's go to the roof."

Izumi and Nanako jogged out after her.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Nanako sat at the edge of the pool, her calves dipped inside of the cool water. Mei was swimming around in her underwear without a care in the world. The way her hair moved behind her reminded Nanako of seaweed.

Izumi was seated next to Nanako, his pants rolled up tightly at his knees. He leaned back on his hands and looked up at the partially cloudless sky.

"Sorry that happened." He heard Nanako murmur.

"Hey, it's okay. You didn't know it was going on. I'm just glad they didn't notice us." He laughed lightly.

"I can't say we have issues on a daily basis… but this just happened to be one of those times…" Nanako lowered her head into her hands. "I cannot believe they were being so oblivious to Haruhi's feelings."

"I'm sure they were just stressed out because of that club."

"The Zuka club." Mei appeared in front of them. The way her bangs clung to her face made her look like the dead girl from _Ringu_. "Benio, Chizuru, and Hinako are the three most popular girls at Lobelia. They do a variety of musicals and theatrical things. They love women and hate men. My mother originally convinced me to join, but after being around them for a week, I left and decided to join dance instead." She pushed her bangs out of the way. "They probably mean well, but they really hate men… and they seemed to really hate the Host Club." Mei placed her wet hand on Nanako's knee. "If I were you, I'd stay away from them. If they figure out you're a part of the club, they'll probably attempt to transfer you to Lobelia, too. Not that I don't want you there, but I wouldn't say it's worth it." She sighed. "I never knew how much I liked having men around until I went to an all-girls private school."

"It's the same for me," Izumi raised his hand. "I went to an all-boys middle school… I begged my mom to help me get into Roka for high school because there was _no way_ I was going to be surrounded by guys for three more years."

Nanako laughed.

The three of them spent the last half of the day around the pool, and after the school day had ended, they had opted to go to Izumi's house for dinner.

His mother was more than pleased to make a large family meal.

Nanako found herself cutting vegetables while Izumi's mother cooked the meats. "It's good to see you again, Nanako. I haven't seen you since you were little."

"It's good to see you too. You don't look like you've aged a day." She complimented, making the older woman laugh.

"Thank you, Nanako. You, on the other hand, have blossomed. You used to be so small and now you're much taller than I am."

The younger girl smiled. "Izumi has gotten much bigger than I have."

"I expected as much. He looks and acts more like his father than he does me."

Nanako moved onto the next vegetable.

"I loved being your nanny. You were such an adorable child, very aware of the world. Your father is such a nice man." Nanako watched the mother turn around with a smile on her face. "Even after all these years, he's made sure that I was financially stable. Such a caring man."

"That sounds like him."

"Hey, mom?" Izumi pushed the small flap out of the way before walking fully into the kitchen. "Did a large package ever come for me?"

His mother nodded. "It came around noon today. I was leaving the house when it happened so I put it in the trunk of the car." Izumi nodded and shuffled out of the kitchen.

"He got a job recently. He used his last two paychecks to buy a gaming console online. I was proud of him for finally buying something big for himself." She turned her head back towards Nanako. "It means he's one step closer to becoming independent and leaving me with more money."

Nanako snorted.

She had forgotten how funny Izumi's mother was.

"Not saying I won't miss him when he's gone, but I'd love to be able to pamper myself every now and again."

"I understand that."

It was another half hour before they could eat, but it was worth it. They felt like a family as they joked and laughed over this and that, over each other, over the past. Nanako missed this feeling—the feeling of eating with people you cared for.

She was rarely able to eat with her parents. She ate with her dad when he was home, but that was rare. She only ate with her mother if she asked, and if not, Nanako would stay in her room the entire night.

Eating with Izumi, his mother, and Mei made her happy.

After they finished, the girls said their goodbyes and parted ways.

Nanako hoped the next day would go a little smoother.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"You want me to _what?_ "

Nanako had taken three steps into the club room before being rushed into the back room and seated at a table with rose tea and a sandwich.

"We need to show Haruhi that she can experience the Zuka club while still being part of the Host Club!" Tamaki pleaded.

"We don't want Haru-chan to transfer!" Honey gripped her dress with watery eyes.

Nanako stared at the club members. "You want me to make you all women?"

"Yes! Well, minus Mori-senpai."

Nanako pursed her lips. "I'm going to make a quick call. I'll be right back.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Everyone, these are my friends, Mei and Izumi." Nanako held her hand out to introduce them. "Mei is from Lobelia, but don't worry, she's not crazy."

"I hate the Zuka Club with a passion."

"She's here to help with getting you into your costumes."

"I've worn and helped design over fifty costumes for dance and other various activities; I _know_ how to make someone look like a woman."

"Izumi, believe it or not, is actually a man."

Nanako had asked Izumi to come just after he performed in his school's play in Ouran's grand auditorium. He raised a gloved hand and smiled. "I'm here to help with makeup."

"Precisely. Now," Nanako pointed to Honey. "I'm taking Honey-senpai and the twins. Izumi is taking Kyoya-senpai and Tamaki-senpai. Mei is going to put Mori in his costume."

The members of the club divided themselves into groups and went with their respective leader.

It took a while, as putting on makeup usually does, but the end result was beautiful, horrifying, and hilarious.

"Don't move your breasts and breathe with your chest, not your stomach. You're not synched up top." Mei coached, demonstrating the difference between the two types of breathing. "We don't want you dying out there."

"You guys will do fine." Nanako smiled at her drag sisters (and one brother). "I don't think Haruhi would leave you guys. Plus, those Lobelia girls—,"

"Are horrible." Mei finished.

"Thank you, Mei, but I was going to say weird, and a little too pushy."

"I hear talking!" Izumi called from his place at the door.

"Okay, into position! I want you guys to look like a huge cloud, not a bunch of little clouds!" Mei barked, inspecting the group as they got closer to the ground. "Honey-senpai, move inwards. You're a little detached…There you go." Mei lifted her hand to signal for the lights to be turned off.

Izumi flicked the switch, and the two girls dashed over to stand next to him.

The door opened, and the entire room stayed silent for several long seconds.

Each boy began to sing 'Ouran', and just before Tamaki sang, Izumi flicked on the lights and revealed the club members dressed as women—some more natural than others.

"Ouran Host Club welcomes you!"

Haruhi stared blankly while the Zuka girls stared at the boys in varying levels of shock.

"Oh, Haruhi, welcome." Tamaki gracefully approached the group of girls, the click-clack of his heels echoing in the otherwise silent room.

"Haru-chan! Haru-chan! I'm a princess! Do I look good?" Honey asked, poking his cheeks.

"What kind of stunt is this!? Are you trying to make fun of our culture?!" Benio shouted.

"Make fun? No, certainly not. I have taken everything into account. This is a surefire technique guaranteed among commoners to make even a crying child happy: The Freebie Campaign!" Tamaki twirled around in his giant dress and presented the group. "You ladies who have lived sheltered lives at Lobelia might not know this, but commoners are apt to have a weakness for free things. Haruhi might be distracted and sense the appeal of joining the Zuka Club, but if you choose our club, your brothers and sisters come with it!"

"The plan is to allow Haruhi to experience the same feeling she would get if she were to join the Zuka Club as she continues with the Host Club," Nanako spoke up, earning the attention of the girls standing by the door. "They were very worried you would leave, so they went through all the trouble of being a female impersonator for you."

"I wouldn't leave them if I were you. They care a lot." Mei commented blandly, adjusting her giant glasses, and proceeding to cross her arms.

"You see, Haruhi? Aren't I pretty?" Tamaki asked as he batted his (fake) lashes.

"We're the Hitachiin Sisters! Which one is prettier?"

"Just teasing!"

The twins were probably the strangest looking of the bunch next to Tamaki, but it wasn't like they minded. They were doing this for Haruhi after all.

"Haru-chan! You can call me Big Sister!"

Mori and Kyoya stood still with small smiles on their faces.

"You think a maiden can be taken by this?!"

Nanako looked at Haruhi. "Absolutely."

Haruhi began to laugh, lightly at first, but the more she thought about it, the harder she laughed.

"Too much! I don't even know what this means!" Haruhi was rolling on the floor with laughter. "I knew you guys were goofballs, but geez…"

Haruhi began to calm down, but just before she did, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Honey swarmed over to her.

"Are we really that funny?"

Haruhi began to cry with laughter as she tried running away from them. Nanako couldn't help but laugh herself. It _was_ really funny to watch.

"Really, stop it already! What were you guys thinking?" Haruhi asked, wiping stray tears from her face.

"Well, we want to run the Host Club with you, Haruhi."

Haruhi stood up. "There are all sorts of people in the world, and I do think that your way of thinking is unique and interesting, but I'm studying at this school because I have a goal for my future, so I never intended to quit Ouran here to begin with."

Nanako felt relieved.

"We're not giving up on you, Maiden! One day, we will come and rescue you from this place and bring down the Host Club!"

"Okay, it's time for you to go." Nanako and Mei began to herd the girls out of the room.

"Beautiful Maiden, are you also trapped in this hellhole?"

"Really, I think you guys should leave."

"And never come back."

"Mei, I'm shocked. You were so promising and _now_ you've turned to men?" Benio was really beginning to push boundaries in the two girls.

"My sexuality is _none_ of your business."

"Fine," The Zuka Club members exited the room and began to spin down the hallway. However, all three managed to slip on bananas just before Nanako and Mei closed the doors on them.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

After a brief appearance from Renge, the Host Club members took the time to get out of their costumes and thank Nanako and her friends.

Izumi and Mei left to check out the rest of the performances, and Nanako stayed behind to be with her club.

"You looked _very_ beautiful today," Nanako joked as she took the pins out of Kaoru's hair.

"Thank you. I try my best every day."

Kaoru was the last person left in the room. He had gotten his uniform back on and was now just waiting for his hair and makeup to be removed.

"I know you do." Nanako pulled the hair drills from his head and placed them in their respective case. "You want to know something?"

"Sure,"

"I had a feeling Haruhi wouldn't leave." Nanako stepped in front of him and pulled off the lashes. "I don't see Haruhi as the kind of person to just up and leave with a bunch of debt tied to her name. That would be unproductive."

Kaoru closed his eyes as she began to wipe off the eyeshadow. "You and Haruhi are very similar, you know that, right?"

Nanako nodded. "We _do_ have similarities, but we're not identical." Nanako folded the makeup wipe and wiped away any lingering eyeshadow. "In a way, I guess we're like you and Hikaru—similar but still different."

"Yeah," Kaoru murmured.

After getting all the excess makeup off, they met up with Hikaru and Haruhi in the main room and headed to the theater to watch the rest of the cultural performances.

* * *

 **Today you got to see the two friends that I mentioned in chapter one! They're quite interesting characters—both coming from different places. They might make another appearance in the future, but I'm not sure when.**

 **I think this chapter is going to do it for me. I've written about 15,000 words between these four chapters, and I think I'm hitting my limit.**

 **I will be on another brief hiatus until December 16** **th** **(when I get out of school), so expect me to be writing chapters through the end of December and the first week of January.**

 **Remember to review! I'll see you guys next chapter!**


	15. Life is Full of Surprises

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter 15: Life is Full of Surprises

* * *

"You're going where?"

"Haruhi's place." Kaoru briefly explained the situation as he entered the car.

"Oh, was that why Kyoya-senpai called me a while ago? I wasn't able to answer my phone and I felt bad…"

"You shouldn't feel bad, it wasn't like we had this planned. Boss suddenly wanted to go to Haruhi's today."

There were a few muffled words spoken on the other end of the line. "Okay, I'm sure Haruhi's not going to be too happy about you guys suddenly showing up, but I'll come as soon as I can. Mei and I are in Ikebukuro right now and we _just_ started touring Sunshine Aquarium. When we're done here we're going to head back, so try not to cause too much trouble," Nanako pleaded.

" _I_ won't cause too much trouble."

"You better not. I'll see you later."

The two exchanged goodbyes and hung up.

Nanako pocketed her phone and looked at Mei who was currently staring into the jellyfish tank. It was Mei's birthday, and because she enjoyed marine life, they collectively decided to go to an aquarium.

Compared to Mei's normal blunted attitude, she seemed more lively today than any other previous meeting.

"Are you sure you're okay with me leaving early today?" Nanako asked as she, too, stared into the tank.

Without taking her eyes off the swimming creature, Mei nodded. "I'm okay with that. My mother wanted to throw me this huge elaborate party later tonight anyway, so she told me I couldn't be out all day." She exhaled gently. "I'm just happy that I got to spend part of my birthday with you."

Nanako smiled. "I hope you're enjoying it."

Mei looked directly at her with her dark eyes sparkling. "Are you kidding? An aquarium on my birthday is the best thing I could ever ask for!"

"I'm glad you're having a good time."

The two of them finished touring about forty-five minutes later, and after buying Mei a large stuffed seal, the two of them were driven back to the Mirashiro manor.

"Thank you so much for today." Mei clutched her seal in her arms and nuzzled the top of its head. "I love my gift."

"You're very welcome." Nanako held her arms out for a hug. "I was happy to spend your birthday with you. I can't believe you're already sixteen. You're so lucky. I still have to wait another six months!"

"You'll get there." Mei smiled, her normal mood sinking back in. "Anyways, I'll see you soon."

"Have fun at your party!"

"I probably won't."

Mei greeted the butler who held the door open wide for her and disappeared. Nanako hopped back in the car and asked her driver to transport her to Haruhi's.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Thank you,"

"Will you need a ride home?"

Nanako thought for a moment. "I don't believe so. I'll have someone take me home."

Walking through the opening, she pulled her sleeves down and curled her fingers in to hold the ends in her hands. It wasn't cold, but the slight breeze cut right through her thin shirt. She was thankful she had a vest on.

"Commoner's supermarket, commoner's supermarket!"

Nanako's ears perked up at the last possible moment, and before she could figure out what was going on, someone knocked her off balance.

"Ah!"

Two pairs of hands grabbed her arms before she could fall down the stairs.

"Sorry, Nanako." The twins said in unison as they hoisted her upright.

"It's okay. Sorry, I'm late." She straightened her sleeves. "Are you guys leaving?"

"Nana-chan! Are you going to go with us to the supermarket?" Honey asked excitedly, leaning forward expectantly for her answer.

"The supermarket?" She blinked. "I suppose so."

"Excuse me," Nanako turned her head and stepped aside to let a woman by.

"Why are we going to the supermarket?"

"Because Haruhi's going to make us lunch!" The twins answered.

There was a panicked scream which caught everyone's attention. "That doesn't sound good."

As soon as they got to the door, they all understood the situation.

Tamaki had done something to piss off Haruhi's dad (mom).

"Oh, so that guy who passed us was Haruhi's dad, after all."

"I thought he was a woman!" Nanako exclaimed, awed by the person in front of her.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, Nanako! It's divine intervention—ah!"

The twins stepped on him and held out their hands towards Haruhi's dad. Nanako stood there in shock as she watched Tamaki's body tremble under their weight.

"G-guys…" Her hand was halfway out in a 'stop' motion.

"Hello. We're Haruhi's good friends, the Hitachiin Brothers." The twins said in unison, smiling like they weren't standing on top of their friend.

"Papa, you're a tranny?"

"You're the first genuine tranny we've ever seen!" They _did_ see Nanako's friend dressed as a woman, but it was for his Drama club, so it didn't _technically_ count.

"Sir, did you finally put the moves on Haruhi?"

"Sorry about that. This guy is a lady's man."

"A true pheromone machine who's fooled around with more girls than you can count!"

"I don't think that's true…" Nanako murmured

"Fooled around?" Haruhi's dad growled, his cheek visibly twitching.

Tamaki, finally finding the strength to defend himself, immediately intervened, trying to save himself from the situation he had gotten himself into. "No! I don't fool around! I sincerely…" Tamaki lowered his head towards the ground. "I sincerely thin of Haruhi as though she were my own daughter!"

The way Haruhi's dad looked at the blonde practically screamed what he was thinking; Tamaki was an idiot.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"So, you're the host club I've been hearing about."

The Host Club members were now seated around Haruhi's table smiling at her dad—aside from the sulking Tamaki.

"You really are a fine set of boys. I don't know which one I would take." His brown eyes turned towards Nanako's own dark ones. "And you look just like I imagined. Haruhi's spoken about you before." He turned back to the group. "You can just call me Ranka. 'Ranka' is the professional name I use at the tranny bar where I work."

"Professional name? Like a stage name?" Honey asked curiously.

"That's exactly right, Mitskuni-kun," Ranka answered without hesitation.

"Huh? How do you know my name?"

Ranka smiled and rattled off the names and grades of the Host Club members. He then explained that, while Haruhi talked about Nanako on occasion, she was not the one who talked about the Host Club; Kyoya was the one in contact with Ranka.

Kyoya and Ranka then proceeded to take lighthearted jabs at Tamaki by noting flaws in his title as _president_.

"Hold on! I never heard you were contacting Kyoya-senpai!" Haruhi questioned.

"But Haruhi, you _never_ tell me about anything at school. You barely told me about Nanako! What was I supposed to do?"

"So, without telling me, you—Tamaki-senpai, quit growing mushrooms in other people's closets!" Haruhi shouted.

"You're even cute when you're angry!"

Ranka began to nuzzle his daughters head dotingly.

Nanako was briefly reminded of her quirky father.

"I'm going shopping, all by myself," Haruhi announced after she broke free of her father and grabbed her purse. "I'll be right back, so everyone, please behave yourselves."

Haruhi closed the door behind her.

"We want to go to the commoners' supermarket, too!"

"I think that option is already gone." Nanako smiled crookedly.

"Once Haruhi's made up her mind, she won't listen to you."

Ranka explained that Haruhi decided to go to Ouran and did all the paperwork by herself. The members of the club were all aware that Haruhi was an independent person, but Ranka explained that after Haruhi's mother passed away, she became the person who depended on herself.

"I'm grateful to you guys. She seems to be happy and enjoying herself at school now, in her own way."

Nanako smiled. She was glad they had made a positive change in their friend.

About ten minutes of light stalking later, Nanako found herself in a supermarket staring at the small but mighty candy section. She personally didn't eat a lot of candy, but there was something about the sugar that was reeling her in.

There was a small child next to her staring in awe at the array of candy, and she moved an inch to the side so he could have a little more room.

She pulled a bag of watermelon gummies from a higher area and began to walk away before she heard the light struggle and rustle of plastic. Turning her head, she saw the boy reaching for the same bag of candy she had just grabbed.

As soon as she registered that he was going to use the bottom shelves to climb his way up, she hurried back over and immediately stopped him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't do that! You might get hurt!" She grabbed his hand and put him back on the floor. "Which one do you want?" She asked.

He pointed at the strawberry flavored gummies that were right next to where she got hers. "I want the strawberry ones!"

"Okay," She stepped behind him, slid her arms around his small waist and lifted him up so he could grab the bag himself. He made a small sound of delight as he was lifted so high, and he was beaming with happiness when she put him down.

"That was so fun! Thank you!" He dashed off around the corner.

She smiled. This was probably the first time she'd ever interacted with a kid in several weeks, and it was probably one of the better moments of her time here thus far. It reminded her of the younger boy who used to live next door to her in the real world. They had similar parental issues, and she used to babysit him on occasion before him and his father moved away.

"That was nice of you,"

Nanako's attention was grabbed as she heard the familiar voice approach her. Kaoru stood smiling with several containers of instant coffee in his arms. "What are you doing with those?" She giggled, taking one from him to lighten the load.

"We're buying instant coffee. Hikaru's got a lot with him, too." Kaoru explained and then noticed the candy in her hand. "Do you like watermelon?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "I _love_ watermelon. It's my favorite fruit. I'd have to say apples are next—peeled but not cut." She made a peeling motion and then swiftly shook her hand to signify that she didn't like her apples cut.

"So, you prefer skinless apples?"

She nodded.

"That's so weird." He smiled. She hit him with her bag of candy

"To me, it isn't! I think apples taste sweeter when they're cold and skinless." She paused. "Out of context, that sounds very creepy."

Kaoru laughed.

"Kaoru, come on! We're getting ready to leave!" Hikaru called from the end of the aisle. The two of them purchased their goods together and left with the rest of the group to return to Haruhi's.

At dinner, while she was shoving pieces of meat into her mouth, Honey turned to her and excitedly exclaimed that they should visit her house next.

Nanako choked. She slammed her bowl down and violently coughed into her sleeve away from the table.

"Are you okay, Nana-chan?!" Honey worried. Nanako immediately raised a shaking hand and tried to wave it, but her body was racked with another coughing fit that brought tears to her eyes. She inhaled deeply and then sneezed.

It was probably the strangest thing anyone had ever seen.

"I'm fine, I was just surprised you asked." She raised her glass of water to her lips and downed it without a second thought. "I'd love for you guys to stop by, but I'd have to know when so I can tell you if it's a good time or not."

The last thing Nanako wanted was for her mother to be there to criticize her in front of her friends.

"How about next Sunday?" Tamaki asked, trying to sneak chrysanthemum off the pile resting in his bowl.

"I'd have to check when I get home." She grabbed a few vegetables from the pot and ate them.

They discussed a few different, casual things over the table, but it was nothing extensive. Most of the time was spent making fun of Tamaki or Haruhi trying to defend what was left of the man growing mushrooms on his body.

The twins dropped her off at home, and after a brief goodbye, she entered the house only to be attacked with a hug by her drunken father.

"Welcome hoooome, Nana~!" He slurred, planting kisses on her forehead.

"Dad? Are you drunk?" She asked, her eyebrows flying clear up to her hairline in confusion.

"I'm wasted~!" The smell of alcohol was extremely pungent. "I went out drinking with a new client and she could _really_ hold her liquor! I think she's Russian." He pressed a wobbly finger to her cheekbone, clearly aiming for her nose and missing. "Boop."

"Why don't we get you to lay down?" Nanako tried steering him towards the stairs, but as soon as he took one step he went down and ended up sitting on the bottom step.

"Normally I don't get this drunk," He looked up at her with clouded eyes, "but today I had a reason to drink!" His shrill laughter, much different than the normal one, echoed through the entryway.

"I'm sure you did, but how about you go to bed today?"

"You know what I did, Nana?" She hoisted him up and slung his arm over her shoulder. "I called your mother."

While Nanako didn't say anything, she felt the back of her head tingle. She felt something bad coming on, and she wasn't sure if it was just her body or the impending confession, but she _knew_ something wasn't going to be right.

"I poured my heart out into _three_ different voicemails, but the third time, I really let her have it." The two of them made it up the stairs. "I told her that I couldn't deal with her selfishness anymore. She's _never_ cared about anything other than her image, and _I_ was _so stupid_ to think that I could change her like they do in American film… I told her, listen, I told her that I couldn't stand the thought of her treating you with such disrespect, and I told her that when we finalize the divorce, she's never going to be allowed to see you again."

Nanako had her hand on the master bedroom's door handle.

"She and I weren't meant to work out anyway. I've been so loyal to her all these years, and she went and slept with her co-stars and I had to hide it and I'm so tired of it all, Nana… I'm so tired of her bull crap."

Nanako pushed the door open and seated him on his oversized bed. He sloppily kicked his shoes off and unbuttoned his shirt while Nanako removed his tie.

" _Eighteen years._ Just _poof_ , gone!" Nanako made sure he didn't slam his head on anything as he lowered his head down to the pillow. "And now… I don't know what I'm going to do other than work my ass off day and night…What do you think of moving to a smaller house?"

"I think you've done enough talking today, Dad." She brushed his floppy hair out of his eyes and patted his chest. "Just go to sleep and take a day off tomorrow." She kissed his forehead and turned off the bedside lamp.

"I love you, Nana," He said, trying to make the statement as clear as possible.

She turned off the main light and waved at him. "I love you, too."

She closed the door behind her and walked to her room. Once her own door was shut, she took a shower, brushed through her hair, took out her uniform, and made sure her homework was finished before dialing Kaoru's number.

" _Hey, what's up?_ " He was surprised she called as late as she did. She _never_ called after eleven because she would normally try to go to sleep by then.

"Um…" Her mouth hung open to tell him what she had just learned, but the words didn't want to leave her mouth. No matter how much she wanted to tell him, she couldn't bring herself to admit that her parents were getting divorced…and she was happy about it.

" _Nanako?"_

She hummed lightly. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you,"

Kaoru was silent.

She was silent.

The call continued between them for a few minutes, in complete silence, before he answered.

" _I love you, too._ "

They said goodnight and hung up.

Nanako went to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Her father had taken the following day off like she had suggested, but when Nanako went in to check on him before she went to school, he explained to her that he was going to speak with her maternal grandparents. Even though she already knew what for, her father didn't seem to remember spilling his secret the previous night.

She decided it was better not to mention it. After all, ignorance is bliss.

This week's theme revolved around police officers. Nanako stood tall and poised in her outfit—a black pencil skirt, dark blue button up, black gloves on her hands, and a fake badge on her right breast. Her hair was neatly brushed back in a high ponytail. Out of all the outfits thus far, she liked this one the best.

It was the only outfit so far that made her feel the most comfortable.

She brushed off her skirt and straightened when she heard the door open. It was a little early for any of the girls to be coming in—about ten minutes, to be exact— and sure enough, it _wasn't_ a normal guest who had entered the door, but a little girl with light blonde hair and the elementary school uniform.

She was much tinier than any of the children Nanako had encountered thus far.

The boys did their typical greeting, and the little girl stared in awe in the middle of the room. Nanako was afraid that if her eyes got any bigger they would pop out of her tiny head.

"Kitty cat, where did you come from?" Tamaki asked, leaning forward with a smile.

The girls hand raised and pointed at him. "Reverse harem!"

Everyone froze in shock.

"This is a reverse harem!"

No one could believe the statement the girl had just made.

"Oh, my, there must still be water in my ears from when I went swimming earlier today." Tamaki twisted his finger in his ear with a lopsided smile.

"Yeah, that must be it, boss." Hikaru laughed awkwardly as he twisted both fingers in his ears, his twin mimicking him.

"I could've sworn she just said 'reverse harem.' That can't be right." Kaoru laughed.

"Debauchery."

Everyone froze again.

This little girl… _where did she learn those words from?!_

"Yay! There's debauchery here!" She cheered, jumping enthusiastically. She, then, pointed at each member of the host club and named their type.

Kyoya was the Megane type.

Honey and Mori were Lolita and Shota respectively.

The twins were dubbed as Twincest.

Haruhi was the Bookworm.

When the girl pointed to Nanako, she paused. She debated between the girl being the main character or the yuri character, but because _she_ was technically the main character, that automatically made Nanako the female interest.

So, Nanako was cast as the Yuri type.

Lastly, when she looked at Tamaki, the girl had tears in her eyes. "You're blonde, so you must be my big brother!"

"Boss, you never said you had a little sister!"

"I am definitely an only child… at least I _think_ I'm an only child." Tamaki protested.

"Now that I think about it, you two do look a lot alike. You're both blonde and all." Honey stated with a smile.

" _Technically_ just being blond wouldn't make them related, though. You and Tamaki both have blonde hair, but you're not related." Nanako mused, getting a nod from those who were listening to show they followed her logic. "She's probably mistaken him for her brother, whoever he is."

"What's your name, Miss?" Tamaki asked as he pried the clingy girl from his neck.

"Kirimi!"

When Tamaki tried to explain that he didn't have a little sister, her eyes welled up with tears.

"You're not my big brother, even though you're blonde?"

Nanako shook her head.

"Being blond doesn't-?"

"All right!" Tamaki, with tears in his own eyes, picked up Kirimi and begun to spin her around. "As of today, I'll be your big brother!"

"Tamaki-senpai, you shouldn't say something so irresponsible! She has an _actual_ brother who's probably looking for her!" Nanako scolded only to be nonchalantly brushed off.

"It's not irresponsible! I'm looking after her!"

"She's got a brother who does that already!" She pressed, but before she could scold him more, the door opened and a teenager who looked exactly like the small girl entered.

"Kirimi?"

No one seemed to know who he was, though.

"Master, you've forgotten your attire."

Two other people entered the room behind him—a tall bald man in a suit and a maid with cat-like eyes. They draped something over him and then spun him around quickly.

When the teen slowed down, it was a shock to see who it was.

Everyone seemed to know who it was except Nanako. She couldn't recall ever meeting the boy.

"Nekozawa-senpai?!"

It was strange to Nanako that Kirimi had no idea what her brother looked like. She _had_ to have lived in the same house as him, so why wouldn't she have run into him? It seemed very strange, but it wasn't the only strange thing about this situation.

Nekozawa hated the light while Kirimi hated the dark. She apparently had been afraid of her _actual_ brother since she was a baby (because of his dark attire) and that alone was depressing. Nanako felt sorry for her senior, although a part of her thought the entire situation was rather ridiculous.

 _Couldn't he have taken off the dark clothing to see his sister? If it scared her so much, why not sacrifice your own wellbeing?_

"We've been reading her stories with princes in it, but because we ran out of stories to read, I've improvised by reading her shojo manga with princely characters in them. She's practically become obsessed." The maid explained.

"I don't think you should be reading shojo manga to a little girl…" Nanako muttered

"So, Sashimi-chan— "

"It's Kirimi."

"Kirimi-chan," Haruhi quickly corrected, turning towards Nekozawa, "doesn't know you're her brother, does she senpai?"

That seemed to be a tender subject for the teen because he immediately went into a crouching position and sounded like he was crying.

"We've tried to explain that to her many times, but she just won't believe us."

 _What kind of child doesn't believe everything you tell them?_ All the children Nanako had personally met had practically eaten out of others people's hands when they explained things. If memory served correctly, she remembered Mei convincing a six-year-old boy at a garden party that, if he wandered too far away from his mother, he would run into Kuchisake-Onna. When he asked who that was, Mei explained that she was a beautiful woman wearing a surgical mask who asked children if she was pretty. If the child said yes, she would take off the mask and reveal that the corners of her mouth had been cut into her cheeks. She'd then ask if she was pretty, and if the kid said yes, she'd cut the same smile into his face, but if the kid said no, she'd cut him in half.

Apparently, the kid had gotten sick not long after and begged his parents not to leave him alone at the hospital out of fear.

Mei was grounded for two weeks when the information was relayed back to her parents.

"I pray every day that Kirimi will come to love the darkness."

"She's not going to suddenly love the dark, that's not how fears work." Nanako sighed. "If you want a decent relationship with your sister, you must be willing to be in the light, even if it's a little bit. You have to meet her halfway."

"NO! I want to stay with Big Brother! I'd rather stay with Big Brother!" Kirimi's protest filled the room and rattled Nekozawa's broken spirit to the core.

"Nekozawa-senpai…" Tamaki began to apologize, but he wasn't allowed to finish.

"It's okay, Suoh-kun. It doesn't matter what happens to me. Please… please give Kirimi the love that she needs!" With that said, he dashed off out of the room.

Nanako had her hand raised in a feeble attempt to stop him from leaving, but he was gone before she could think of anything to stop him.

 _Why is this family so dysfunctional?_ She wondered, rubbing her forehead in confusion.

"I'm jealous."

Nanako looked at Haruhi who was staring out of the window.

"I've been an only child my whole life. Yet, actually having a brother but not getting along with him is kind of sad, right?"

Nanako couldn't agree more.

Tamaki put Kirimi on the ground.

"What's the matter, Big Brother?" She asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"I'm not your Big Brother…But don't worry! You have a prince that's even more handsome than I am, and _he's_ you're real Big Brother."

It was clear that Tamaki was creating a plan.

"From the moment Kirimi-chan stepped in here, she became a guest of the Host Club. Ouran Host Club exists to bring happiness to other girls! Having a brother and sister who don't care for each other, and who can't be with each other, is a problem that shouldn't be! As of now, 'Operation Reform Nekozawa-senpai into the Bright Princely Character that Kirimi-chan Prefers' is underway!"

"You know you can't change someone who doesn't want to be changed, right?" Nanako asked, crossing her arms. She wasn't sure Nekozawa wanted to change—and even if he did, he didn't show it by running away today.

If he really wanted a relationship with his sister, he would have to do something crazy to prove it to Kirimi as well as himself.

Tamaki smiled knowingly. "You seem to forget that we have someone on our side who is amazing at changing a person's character, do we not?"

The color in Nanako's face drained rapidly. "Oh, no."

"Oh, yes."

"Oh-ho-ho-ho~!" A shrill, fake laugh echoed through the room. Renge suddenly began to rise from the ground on a pedestal.

 _We've literally gone over this_ _ **twice**_ _before. Does he just not listen?_ Nanako couldn't tell if she was angry at the fact that Renge had returned to change someone else's character or at the fact that, even though Nanako had explained and shown that forcing someone to change their character only works part of the time, Tamaki had, once again, brought back the she-devil.

Nanako politely excused herself to change into her uniform.

Somehow, she managed to keep herself calm and made it home just in time to scream her frustrations into her pillow.

 _Tomorrow is going to be a long day…_

* * *

 **Hello there!**

 **It's been a while, but I have returned… with two episode halves in one! A lot of things happened in this episode, so I hope you're not** _ **too**_ **overwhelmed.**

 **Side note: We've crossed fifty thousand words! Woot woot!**

 **I'm determined to get through at least Episode 16 on this brief return to the world of writing, so that's a good… four more episodes? I'm thinking of skipping episode 13 (Haruhi in Wonderland) because 1) I don't have enough knowledge of Alice in Wonderland and 2) that episode is for Haruhi's character development. Alternatively, I'll probably have a Host Club House Visit instead to get some more character development out there.**

 **Isn't it nice to see characters constantly developing? It's beautiful. Even looking back to the first chapter, Nanako has changed so much and I'm so proud of her.**

 **There are a few things I want to discuss before I leave this chapter.**

 **1) Mei has gotten another side to her. I personally like it. I think when she's having fun she gets out of her flat affect mask and into something a little livelier.  
2) I don't think Nanako realizes that Tamaki likes Haruhi… at least I don't remember her ever having that realization. At some point, she'll figure it out, but not today!  
3) Nanako's parents… yikes, am I right? I know divorce is not to be taken lightly, but sometimes it's for the better.  
4) I LOVE YOU  
5) I've never really thought about the Nekozawa family issue in that episode until now, but I can't be the only one that finds it kind of weird, right? Like, Kirimi is at least five and she's been afraid of Nekozawa who could've sacrificed being in the light (or at least semi-light) for a little bit to build a relationship with his sister over the years but hasn't… and why is their house so dark? If Kirimi is afraid of the dark… Whatever, it's all really weird to me right now.  
6) Kuchisake-Onna is an actual legend in Japan, and I've read a comic or two about it somewhere—or maybe it was a creepypasta or something, who knows—but she's really freaky! A lot of those legends don't really have a safe route to go if you do encounter the spirit, which sucks cause there aren't any loopholes other than nope-ing out of the situation. If you want a scare, I'd say go researching Japanese legends… there are some freaky ones out there!**

 **And that's all I have! I'll be back again sometime soon, so stay tuned! Please leave a review! It's a great gift!**

 **Happy Holidays!**


	16. Here for You

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Sixteen: Here for You

* * *

"Your golden hair, as it flickers in the candlelight...Your shining, ivory skin…Your smile, more mysterious than a flower, illuminated by moonlight…Yes, almost as if _you were a cursed wax statue, with your malevolence-_?!"

 _*THWACK*_

"WRONG!" Renge yelled, smacking Nekozawa harshly with an oversized fan. "Who told you to say that line, you numbskull?! How many times do I have to tell you using occult terms is off-limits?!"

Nanako turned the page in her book. Despite her protests, Renge had decided that she would pretend to be Kirimi and has gone as far as to put her in a degrading sailor uniform that didn't fit well on Nanako's body.

After trying it on, Nanako refused to leave the dressing room without a pair of shorts to put under the skirt because one wrong move would end up flashing the other members of the Host Club (and Nekozawa) her panties—and there was _no way_ she was going to let that happen.

"My vocabulary is limited to those sort of words…"

 _*THWACK*_

Renge began slapping Nekozawa around again, apparently reverting to a Spartan education to get him to learn what _not_ to do when talking to his sister.

The _'right way_ ' to talk to his sister was to use lines that seemed to come straight out of a shojo manga, but no matter how Nanako heard them, she couldn't imagine them being used on a five-year-old girl. In all honestly, it was kind of sketchy, but Renge assured they would win the heart of the little girl.

"Okay, now that you've learned all the character-altering lines, I think it's about time we moved on to _it._ "

Nanako peered over the top of her novel. She watched Renge shine the brightest flashlight she could find directly into her senior's face.

He _freaked_ out.

Nanako wanted to speak up and say something— _anything_ to save her senior from this torture method—but she knew that, even if she did try, Renge wouldn't listen. She never did—or at least not to Nanako.

Personally, Nanako believed that people with fears should be eased into it in small increments, not thrown in at full capacity. If she were completely honest with herself, she was confident she could do a much better job at developing someone's character than she was.

"You're not putting your whole heart into saying these lines, either. Think of your practice partner as Kirimi-chan a bit more." Renge pushed her index finger into her victim's face.

"That's easy for you to say, but Kirimi isn't that big…"

'I don't want to hear it!" Renge put her hands on Nanako's shoulders. "Look with the eyes of your heart. The eyes of your heart!" Renge began violently shaking Nanako back and forth.

"Please stop shaking me."

When Renge finally let go, Nanako saw Tamaki hugging a mannequin with a wig that reminded her of Haruhi.

The doors opened and allowed a limited amount of light into the room. Haruhi stood still in the doorway and peered into the darkness. "Kirimi-chan came to the club room again today. If you've got time to goof around doing repulsive stuff like this, then could you please hang out with Kirimi-chan for a while?"

Nanako felt a chill run down her spine.

Something about the way Haruhi looked gave her the willies.

"Haruhi, do you not like children?" Kyoya asked.

Haruhi shook her head. "It's not that I dislike children… it's just…" Haruhi looked like she was having a flashback. "She's had me read over 50 volumes of shojo manga to her in the past three days. And of all the things, this stuff is full of reverse harems, and debauchery."

Nanako felt bad. It _was_ kind of her fault for putting the responsibility on Haruhi. The first day of Nekozawa's training they had asked her to babysit Kirimi, however, she informed Tamaki that she could not babysit children for long periods of time because she became annoyed easily.

It was mostly true (the longest time she'd ever babysat a child was just under three hours, but the child was independent and didn't ask for her help), but she _knew_ Kirimi would be a handful, so she suggested for Haruhi to take her place.

"Big Brother?" The tiny Russian doll poked her head into the room and looked around before beginning to cry. "This room is too dark!"

 _She's not even in the room and she's crying._ Nanako exhaled heavily through her nose. _I wouldn't have made it fifteen minutes._

Haruhi immediately ran over to comfort the sobbing child.

"Oh, what's wrong?" Tamaki asked as he jogged over to her as well. He scooped her up and held her high just outside of the door. "See? It's not dark anymore!" He began to spin her around in circles, causing her bubbly laughter to echo through the room and down the hall.

Nanako glanced at Nekozawa. He looked disheartened to see his sister getting along with who she believed was her brother.

He lowered his head and then raised it. Nanako saw a completely different look in his eyes—determination.

Her breath hitched in her throat as he reached for the flashlight and pointed it at his face.

 _He's going to do it!_ Her hand raised up and gripped the collar of her shirt. _He's using determination to fuel his spirit!_

"I am a handsome, princely big brother." He began chanting. "I'm not afraid of the light!" He turned on the flashlight.

Nanako couldn't believe her eyes.

"Good job, senpai!" She cheered, clapping her hands together.

"He did it!"

"Nekozawa-senpai has finally become able to shine a flashlight on himself!"

Everyone seemed relatively enthusiastic at Nekozawa's act of courage. However…

Kirimi let out a tiny peep of noise before freezing up. Nanako could see why: the way the light shined on Nekozawa's face was everything but princely—it was _terrifying_.

 _Maybe it wasn't a good idea to shine the light up…_

Kirimi wailed in fear and ran out of the room.

Nanako readjusted her outfit and walked over to her senpai. "Hey, I know you feel defeated, but you shouldn't." She touched his drooping shoulder lightly. "You did a very courageous thing for yourself just now, and we're all very proud of you for putting aside your distaste for the light and trying to show your sister the prince she's imagining you to be."

She thought her mini-speech was pretty inspiring, but it didn't seem to make Nekozawa feel any better—at least not noticeably.

"Enough." He murmured. "Even if I go through that training, there's no way Kirimi will accept me." It was clear that all the determination he held mere minutes ago was gone. "Instead of Kirimi having me as an older brother, you should be her substitute older brother instead, Suoh."

Nanako couldn't believe the self-loathing behavior he was emitting.

" _You're_ the one that girl really wants to see, aren't you?" Tamaki asked sternly. "If you hold you sister dear, then show more guts, even if it kills you!"

Nanako stared at Tamaki.

 _He's really intellectual…when it's something he cares about._

As soon as the twins began retracting the blinds, Nanako bounced over to engulf her skin in the sunlight. The ends of her skirt were held down tightly by her fingertips and a small, happy smile graced her features.

"Your sister is still in the courtyard." Hikaru noticed the blonde first while Kaoru noticed the animal standing in front of her.

"There's something down there with her…"

Nanako spotted the girl instantly—her blonde hair was hard to miss—and saw the cat. "It looks like a cat. I wish I could attract animals like that." If she had to pick an animal, she would've wished she could get dogs to follow her.

"Your family even warms up to stray cats."

Nekozawa dashed to the window. "That's not true! Regardless of how the Nekozawa family may revere cats, there's no way that something as occult as her being chummy with a stray cat could happen, is there?" He spotted his sister's blonde hair and felt his heart drop. "Kirimi is afraid of animals! And live cats are what she's most afraid of!"

Nekozawa stepped back and threw himself at the window, shattering the glass and sending him outside into the sunlight.

Nanako couldn't believe it. There were on the second story—there's no way he wouldn't get away without being hurt, right?!

"Nekozawa-senpai!"

They all watched him dash towards his sister yelling her name. When she saw him, she ran at him with a huge smile on her face.

 _Now_ that _is the kind of crazy act I'm talking about!_

She felt happy for the two. They had overcome their differences and found each other.

It was romantic in a platonic kind of way.

"So…how are we going to explain why the window is broken?"

* * *

/-\/-\ **Several days later** /-\/-\

* * *

Nanako poured tea into the empty cups of the trio sitting at the table.

"So, Nanako, when are we going to visit your house?" Tamaki asked, sliding over to the girl with a smile on his face. "We visited Haruhi last week, so why not next Sunday?"

She flung her hand back and threw a sugar cube at his head. "I told you guys that I'd have to check when I got home." She had _tried_ to check the schedules of her parents, but even after asking five different workers in her house, she couldn't get a straight answer out of any of them as to when (or if) her mother was coming back.

She had also tried to talk to her father, but he had once again thrown himself into his work and hasn't been home for five days.

"And did you look?"

"I _did_ … but I can't tell you when would be a good day." She put the teapot back on her cart and looked at Tamaki. "If you or anyone else asks me again, I'm not going to let you come over."

The twins immediately spoke up. "Haruhi said the same thing."

Nanako pointed at them. "But everyone showed up _uninvited_." She put her hand on her hip. "There's a difference. If I wanted you guys at my house, I would've invited you all a long time ago; however, there has not been an appropriate time and there never will be an appropriate time if you ask me again." She began to roll her cart towards the back room.

She closed the door behind her and sighed.

The only person who had any inkling as to what was going on was Kaoru, but even he didn't know the half of it.

In the past two weeks, there had been many developments in the Morikawa household.

Her father had drunkenly let it slip that his marriage was in shambles and ending. Her maternal grandparents, who had been overlooking their daughter's selfish tendencies for years, decided they weren't going to pay her way through life any longer (meaning Nanako's mother lost a lot of income and many personal items they had purchased for her). Her mother hadn't returned, but instead took a large chunk of money and decided she was going on a trip to North America and spent _thousands_ of dollars over the course of three days and is now stuck there because her spending was cut off.

The Morikawa manor was being privately shown to those who were interested in owning more property. Her father had started looking for a new house.

Nanako had informed him that she knew what was going on and he apologized for hiding it from her.

Her mother's whereabouts were still unknown to Nanako.

The only think Kaoru knew was that Nanako didn't want her mother in the house when the club was there.

It was getting harder not to tell him everything that had happened thus far, but at the same time, she didn't want to burden him with the information. To her, it wasn't immensely important, but to others, maybe it was.

Nanako caught herself looking in one of the dressing room mirrors before turning away and heading back out into the main room.

" _You're_ the ones who bumped into it, right?"

Nanako followed the path of where Tamaki was staring and frowned. Usa-chan was soaking up spilled tea.

"I can't even leave for a minute without you guys making a mess." She hurried over and pulled the soggy bunny from the tea she had poured not even five minutes ago.

There were two different things happening in the club room.

Tamaki, the twins, and Haruhi were all going back in forth in a semi-loud conversation while Nanako had carried the rabbit to the back room in a feeble attempt at trying to wring and wash the tea from the rabbit.

She managed to get some of it out, but the stain was still clearly visible. She wouldn't be able to remove it without cleaning supplies.

When she returned to the room, she noticed Honey had woken up from his nap and was now staring at where his bunny previously was.

"Where's Usa-chan?"

Nanako had never heard the senior so menacing.

"I'm sorry, Honey-senpai," She apologized, holding the bunny in front of her. "Usa-chan... wanted to drink some tea but spilled it all over himself. I was trying to give him a bath, but it wasn't coming all the way off." She passed the damp bunny to him. "If you want, I could take him home and get him all clean and fresh for you and bring him back tomorrow."

He stared at the bunny for a solid ten seconds in silence.

"You would do that for Usa-chan?" He beamed up at her and she nodded.

"Of course! I think Usa-chan needs a nice relaxing vacation."

"I think so, too! Do you think he wants cake?"

"Maybe some other time. I think Usa-chan has had enough to consume for today."

Tamaki and the twins stared in shock at the girl.

 _She acts just like a mom._

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Nanako returned Usa-chan first thing the following morning. With a little help from the head maid, she had managed to get the stain out and somehow make the bunny brighter and fluffier.

Honey was overjoyed to see his companion again and promised to treat her with whatever cake she liked best.

Nanako couldn't turn down an offer like that, so she said that they would eat some after the club ended that day.

On her way back to her own classroom, she passed by the second-year classrooms and waved at a few of the girls who she knew relatively well from the club.

"Hey, Morikawa!"

Nanako turned around and saw Arisa jogging towards her.

"Hi, Arisa," Nanako smiled. She hadn't seen Arisa for a while and it was great to see a friend outside of the host club.

"How have you been? I haven't been able to talk to you for a while."

Nanako looked at the ceiling and then back at Arisa. "I've been pretty good. I have some family stuff going on right now, but it's nothing too serious. I've been really busy with the club lately."

Arisa nodded. "I understand how clubs can be. You know, if you ever need to talk about your 'family stuff,' I'd be willing to lend an ear. Or a shoulder if you need that."

They both laughed.

"I will keep that in mind. I should get going. I don't want to be late to class."

"Oh, yeah. I wouldn't want to keep you." Nanako bowed slightly and began to walk back to class. "Text me sometime!" Arisa called after her.

"I will!" Nanako replied.

Arisa watched the girls retreating body and sighed.

"Arisa," The girl in question whipped around to see Shizue standing in the doorway. The look on her face told her everything that Arisa knew but didn't want to hear.

"I know, I know."

Maybe someday she would become close with Nanako. Maybe someday they'd be really good friends. Maybe…

"The more you think about it, the more you're going to hurt yourself." Shizue's voice rang in Arisa's ear.

"You're absolutely right."

Today was another day where she would use her emotions to drive her club practice.

* * *

 **Hello and welcome back!**

 **I know this chapter is a lot shorter than the previous one(s), but I couldn't bring myself to add more content after the ending. It just seemed right to end it here.**

 **I feel like Nanako is becoming quite a dynamic character and has flourished greatly since her debut. She's always changing (for the better, I hope) and I'm hoping you can see that.**

 **In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review to tell me how I'm doing or if you liked it. It really encourages me to continue writing! Motivation is sparse nowadays, but I'm still determined to get through episode 16! (or at least half of it)**

 **I'll see you all next chapter!**


	17. It's so Sweet it Causes Cavities!

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Seventeen: It's so Sweet it Causes Cavities!

* * *

Nanako was always amazed by all the different kinds of cakes the Host Club always provided. She liked all cakes, but the sheer amount of choices put her into a tizzy.

She placed an abundance of cake slices on her three-tier cart and began to make her rounds. While she was doing that, Haruhi was going around and filling teacups.

As she approached Honey's table, she already had his cake of choice ready. Placing it down in front of him, he immediately began to dig into it.

"Honey-senpai, if you keep eating nothing but sweets, you're bound to develop cavities," Haruhi mentioned as she set down teacups in front of his guests. Nanako, who had just begun to roll away, stopped and thought.

 _I didn't even think about that…_ Her eyes slid down to her senior and she bit the inside of her cheek. _Oh, I'd feel bad if he got a cavity._ In her mind, she could be slightly responsible for his misfortune if he did end up getting cavities for providing him sweets without limiting his intake.

She hoped he brushed his teeth.

One tiny pained sound made her heart drop. "Are you okay?" She asked as she approached him, gently lifting her hand towards him, but he moved away.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine to me, let me see," She wrapped her fingers around his wrist and tried to pull it away, but it stayed glued to his cheek.

"It's nothing!" He began to squirm in his seat.

"Honey-senpai," She said sternly, bending down in front of him, "Show me what's wrong."

He shook his head.

"Honey,"

He looked at her and froze. The look she was giving him was terrifying. If he wasn't scared of her maternal aura before, he was now. He was going to open his mouth, but when the twins grabbed his shoulders and tried to open his mouth forcefully, he began to thrash in his seat.

Nanako moved out of the way just before his shoe could hit her in the jaw.

"Stop!" Her hand shot out to smack the twins' hands away as well as stop Honey from moving, but Mori beat her to it.

Mori and Honey ended up on the couch in a very suggestive position—causing several surrounding girls to squeal in delight—and when Mori applied pressure to Honey's cheeks, the senior opened up and confirmed Mori's thoughts.

"Is it a cavity?"

"Yes."

Nanako ran a hand through her bangs.

Tamaki announced that there would not be sweets at the Host Club until Honey's cavity was fixed.

Mori took the slice of cake on the table and placed it on Nanako's cart. She looked down at the half-eaten cake and then looked at the small blonde. His eyes were filled with tears as he gazed up at her.

She mouthed an apology and carted the sweets away.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

The following day was rough. Nanako's job had been limited to pouring tea, and this meant the amount of work she did was extremely low.

After her first round, she took the time to sit down and work on her homework for the day.

She raised the teacup to her lips and felt the warmth spread all throughout her chest. It needed a little sugar, but otherwise, it was okay. After twenty minutes of vigorous work on equations, she went around to check on tea.

She returned to her seat five minutes later to find Honey sitting in a chair that had appeared across from her. Her jaw locked and she sat down quietly.

A few minutes went by before she caught Honey staring at her.

"Why do you look so sad?" She asked, sipping her tea.

"My cavity doesn't hurt anymore."

There was silence between them.

"That's good. However, that doesn't mean that it's healed." She quickly added.

"Maybe… but the other side of my mouth doesn't have a cavity. Can't I just eat sweets on that side?"

"No."

Honey faltered. "Why not?"

"Because you might get a cavity on that side too, and if I were the one to provide you with your undoing, I'd be upset at myself."

Honey sat with her for a few minutes before leaving quietly.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

The third day was, quite possibly, the worst day the Host club had ever seen.

Honey was _clearly_ irritated from having a lack of sweets and snacks in the club. He paced around the back room swiftly.

"He's on edge."

"Somebody talk to him. He's scaring me."

"Don't look at me that way. I'm not his keeper."

"Out of all of us here, he'd be the least likely to attack you."

" _That's_ reassuring, thank you, Hikaru."

"I'm just saying."

Honey pushed open the door and toddled towards the snack cabinets that she had been instructed to empty out the first day.

He took Tamaki's bear out from the cabinet and slammed it onto the ground before falling to the ground himself.

Tamaki freaked out.

"He's dead."

"He gave up after three days."

Tamaki made his way over and pushed the fallen member of the club a few times to wake him up. However, that didn't go over well because Honey bit Tamaki's hand and didn't let go no matter how much Tamaki tried to shake him off.

 _Okay,_ now _he's just being childish._

Mori stood up and walked over to the pair. "Mitskuni, don't take it out on other people or things. It's disgraceful."

"Takashi… _you idiot!_ "

* _WHAM*_

Honey had thrown his cousin over his shoulder and onto the ground. Everyone was shocked.

"A little bit is not going to hurt me! You cheapskate! You hardhead!" Honey shook with various emotions. "Takashi… I hate you!" He screamed.

After several seconds, Honey dashed out of the room crying his heart out.

Tamaki and Nanako hurried out after him.

It wasn't hard to find him; he wasn't running fast and the sound of his wails bounced off the walls easily.

"Honey-senpai!" She called as she saw him stopped in the middle of the hallway. When she got close enough, she slowed down and took a few deep breaths before reaching out and wiping his tears away. "Sweetie, I know it's been a rough few days, but I think you've overreacted a little." He sniffled a few times. "You don't really hate Mori-senpai, do you?"

He shook his head.

"Honey-senpai," Tamaki bent down, "Mori-senpai was being so harsh on you because he felt responsible for your cavity."

Honey looked at Tamaki in shock.

"If you hadn't have thrown him, he would've never forgiven himself."

Nanako dabbed at the tears that were accumulating in Honey's eyes. "You'll be okay, sweetie." She gave him a reassuring hug. "How about we go back and apologize to Mori-senpai?"

Honey nodded.

The three of them went back quietly to the room. Nanako held Honey's hand gently in her own so he wouldn't cry again. Despite being two years older than her, he still had a lot of childish features—some better, some worse—but it wasn't unreasonable.

It just made him who he is.

They returned to the room and Honey immediately ran towards Mori to apologize, promising to brush his teeth more often and to never forget.

It was touching.

Several days later, after Honey's cavity had cleared, he spent the entire time stuffing his face with cake. Nanako hadn't had a chance to sit down at all yet, and she was glad. She preferred being busy to sitting around and doing nothing.

"What cake do you want, Nana-chan?" Honey asked her as soon as the final guest had left. She placed a small stack of plates on her cart.

"Um…" She furrowed her brows. "Either the pineapple upside down cake with whipped cream or the German Chocolate cake."

He nodded and rushed off to the back room to get the cakes.

She gathered up the rest of the plates before heading over to the table where Honey sat with a smile on his face.

"Thanks again for washing Usa-chan! He's a lot fluffier now!" He practically shoved his entire slice of cake into his mouth.

She looked down at her plate to see that her cake were halves of the two cakes she mentioned. She stuck her fork into the top of the chocolate cake and dumped it into her gaping maw.

When she finished chewing she waved her hand. "It's no problem. Accidents happen. I'm just glad the stain went away."

Their meal together lasted no longer than five minutes. To everyone's surprise, Nanako ate cake the same way Honey-senpai did, which was a little concerning. Perhaps it was just cake, but they had never seen her inhale food quite like that before.

"That was delicious, thank you." She took the plates and put in on her cart before rolling it to the back room to clean.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

On Sunday, Nanako was being driven to an unknown place. Her father was driving, drumming his fingers to the beat of the pop song on the radio. She sat in the passenger's seat quietly, staring out the window with drooping eyelids.

She had been woken up from an unpleasant dream of her waking life by her overly-excited father at five in the morning. She had only gotten about four hours of sleep at that point, and she was a little less than happy about being rushed out of her bed.

He barely gave her time to get dressed before he practically picked her up and tossed her into the car.

Apparently wherever they were going was time-sensitive and taking three minutes to brush her teeth was not allowed.

"Don't fall asleep, Nana."

"I'm not asleep. I'm resting my eyes."

"If I had 100 yen for every time I heard you say that."

"You're already rich, why do you need _my_ money?"

Her father laughed. She managed to smile.

Another five minutes passed before the car came to a stop. Quickly turning off the car, Keiichi Morikawa took one look at his daughter and smiled. The sun had not begun to rise yet, to which he was thankful for. He got out of the car and made his way around to the other side to get his sleeping daughter out.

She always looked so peaceful when she slept.

He opened the door, made sure he supported her head, and unbuckled her seat belt. She began to slump out of the car when he crouched down and pulled her onto his back. It took a little bit of strength to get himself up off the ground, but once he was up, he closed the car door with his foot and marched through the front doors of the tall building.

It took less than a minute to rise to the tenth floor. He stepped out with a wide smile on his face. By his ear, Nanako mumbled something sleepily and turned her head farther inward to escape the light of the hallway.

"You're going to love this, Nana," He whispered, readjusting his arms under her backside so he could open the door.

A few minor adjustments and large strides later, Keiichi stood on the balcony and stared out over the jagged city horizon. He shook Sleeping Beauty gently. "Nana, it's time to wake up."

"It's too early." Her arms tightened around his neck.

"You're going to miss it," He sang, letting his arms down and dropping her to the ground. She wobbled, but after wiping the sleep from her eyes, she blinked and looked around.

"Miss what? Where are we?"

He leaned forward onto the railing and smiled at her.

"Home."

It took a few minutes, but as soon as the dark sky began to light up, Nanako stared in awe.

Standing peacefully on the balcony of a place she would learn to call her home with a man who loved her more than the people the world over ever did, she felt her throat burn, and soon after, a stream of tears started to fall down her face.

She cried for the beauty, she cried for her new life, she cried because she knew that one unforeseeable day she would no longer be allowed to experience everything she had done and was going to do in this world.

She was happy, overjoyed, elated, and content.

She was devastated, terrified, and for a moment she regretted ever wishing for something to be different.

Her father wrapped her in a hug. A few droplets of tears fell into her hair as she wrapped her arms around his torso and squeezed harder than she ever had.

"I love you, Nanako. You're one of the greatest gifts I could've ever asked for, and I wouldn't trade you for a second." He inhaled a shaking breath, something inside of his chest rattling. "I'm so happy that you made it this far."

He had always been worried about her. Even before she was born, when she was just a small bump on Marise's willowy figure, he couldn't stand the thought of her being harmed. Marise had been so ashamed, but he never was.

He would never be ashamed of his daughter.

He knew that for a fact.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

By Wednesday, her driver had begun to take her to the apartment instead of the manor. While she was at school, her father had begun working on moving the essential things out of the manor and into the apartment—the essentials being food and a few things he needed for work.

Throughout the day, she received occasional picture messages from him, asking her opinion on various furniture. Because they had similar tastes, she said yes more than no.

When she got home on Thursday, her father had surprised her with a small get together of all the staff from the manor—which didn't exceed more than ten people.

All of them were sad to be leaving the family who had treated them so nicely for so long, but they were all grateful to Keiichi for helping them get a new start in various places—whether that was recommending them for jobs or providing them a good chunk of money to invest in schooling or something else, he wanted to make sure his previous employees had a good start after leaving.

She hadn't gotten a chance to see her room until after everyone left and the dishes were clean. Her room was significantly smaller than the manor, but she didn't mind. She preferred having everything closer than spread out. It was filled with shades of blue. There were various photos hung on her wall her father had gotten from who knows where—some from her childhood, some from trips to other parts of the country, and one in the middle that filled her chest with happiness.

Dressed in overalls, a pink shirt, yellow galoshes and rain hat, the child version of herself—with tiny pigtails, bright pink cheeks, and missing her two front teeth—were pointing at something beyond the camera while she was perched on her father's shoulders, a bright smile on his face.

It was the cutest picture she had ever seen.

She slept peacefully that night.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

The following Sunday was something else.

With a week to go until a brief summer vacation, Nanako was excitedly running around the apartment with the windows open to let in the sound of the city beneath.

It was a warmer day, thankfully, so she had decided on wearing light pink overalls shorts, a yellow tank top, and opaque white stockings. She felt excited, which was weird considering she had invited the Host Club over. She wasn't quite sure _what_ they were going to do for the entire day, but she had some plans lined up.

She told them to arrive around 11:30, and it was about ten minutes until then.

A warm breeze of air fluttered into the room and rustled a few loose pages of the magazine sitting on the coffee table. She double-checked to make sure everything was in order—which it _was_ from just moving in, but she had to make sure—before checking the fridge and making sure she had any food items she could ever need if they asked her to make something for dinner—which she suspected they would.

You could never be too sure with the group.

Right on time, she buzzed them up and waited the minute it took for them to get up to the tenth floor just outside of the door. When she saw them exit the elevator, she waved with a bright smile on her face.

"Welcome!"

* * *

 **This is going to be fun~! I'm so excited to write a new adventure. I have a few ideas planned on what to do, so I'll see you guys next chapter!**

 **Happy New Year!**


	18. Music Box Blues

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Eighteen: Music Box Blues

* * *

"Nana-chan, your house is so small!"

"Well, my father decided he wanted something a little smaller." She held open the door and used her foot to slide out slippers for the two who weren't wearing socks. "I love it. It's way easier to find everything." She laughed.

"This was recent, correct? There's a different address on your student file." Kyoya stated, pushing up his glasses as he observed his surroundings.

"Yes, everything was moved in last week." She closed the door and stuck her thumbs into her pockets. "So, where do we start? Do you guys want something to eat or do you want a brief tour?"

The ones who wanted a tour—everyone aside from Kyoya—followed her around as she showed off the various rooms in the apartment. Most of the rooms were look-only rooms, but when they got to her bedroom, they decided they would look around and observe everything.

It took a few minutes to herd them out of the room, but when she was done, she gathered them back into the living room to chill out and talk while she made tea.

"So, Nanako," Her eyes flickered up from the stovetop. "Is this why it took so long for you to invite us over?" Tamaki asked curiously, picking up another framed photo.

She briefly hesitated. "Yes," She said slowly, before tilting her head side to side quickly and retracting her statement. "Well, yes and no." She began pulling glasses from the shelves and set them down in a line. "There's been some family stuff going on lately, so that was the bigger reason, but moving was the end of it. Honestly, I'm very happy that what happened is behind us—especially because my dad has been so stressed out about it all…" She paused. "In the past, my dad hasn't really had the chance to be home that often, but nowadays I see him almost every day, and it makes me really happy."

"Does that mean,"

"We'll meet your dad?"

She pulled the teapot off the stove and began distributing tea into the cups. "Maybe, I'm not sure. It all depends on his clients. I'm sure you guys will like him." She placed the cups on a tray and carefully made her way around to give one to everyone.

"I wasn't sure what you guys wanted to do exactly today, but if you guys didn't mind, I'd love to do some exploring around the area. I haven't been able to see much because of schoolwork." She explained as she sat on the arm of the sofa.

The more active members of the club were enthusiastic about exploring the commoner's world.

"Men, this is a chance to experience what it's like to be Haruhi. We need to take every chance we can get!" Tamaki announced, determination written all over his face. The twins cheered in agreement.

"You really don't have to," Haruhi muttered, causing a smile to spread across Nanako's face.

"Come on Haruhi! It'll be fun!" She nudged her friend and then leaned in close. "I really just want them out of my house so they don't break anything. Plus, while we're out, you can probably find something to give your dad for Father's Day."

Haruhi suddenly felt more enthusiastic about exploring the area.

Nanako finished the rest of her tea. "It's decided. We're going on an adventure!"

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

The streets were relatively busy, but it wasn't unbearable. To passerby's, the group must've looked like tourists, or at least that's what Nanako assumed they thought when she caught the occasional weird looks someone gave them.

Now, she was flipping through a clothing rack trying to find a shirt she could fit into. Kaoru wasn't too far away, occasionally picking up small trinkets he thought she would like and then putting them down when she got too close.

"What do you think of this?" She had already asked that question multiple times, but each time he gave her his opinion, she quickly put it back and found something else.

"You look good in purple,"

She looked down at the shirt on herself, made a face, and then draped it over her arm. "I think I'll get it." She walked to another rack and Kaoru turned back to the trinkets. There was one amongst the group that he was looking at—a music box that had a panda in a pink tutu spinning around. It wasn't moving at that moment, but when he picked it up and wound it, a cutesy tune began to play.

He closed it and immediately went to purchase it while she continued to shop.

As he handed the bill to the clerk, his phone rang. He pocketed his change and took the bag from the smiling woman before bringing the phone to his ear.

"Kaoru, you're missing out!" Hikaru's excited voice echoed in his ear. He explained that there was a shop not too far away that was making animals out of different kinds of candy and it was a must-see. "Grab Nanako right now and bring her here because this is the coolest—make a tiger next!" Kaoru pulled the phone away from his ear and winced. Hikaru could be so loud when he was excited. "Get over here now!"

Hikaru hung up.

Nanako, suddenly, had a huge stack of clothing over her arm and was now heading towards the dressing room.

He wondered when the other members of the club left the store because the last time he had looked around, they had all been somewhere or another within it, but now…

It was just Nanako.

The girl closed the door behind her and dropped her pile of clothing onto the stool inside. She managed to try on every shirt in five minutes and exited the room quietly. She put back the shirts she didn't want and then paid for the ones she did.

When she was done, Kaoru made his way over to her. She noticed the bag in his hand. "Did you find something?"

He took her hand. "I did. Now we have to find the others."

She looked around and noticed that they were the only people in the store. "They left?"

"Yes. I don't know how long ago, but Hikaru did call me and told me they were at a shop somewhere nearby—he didn't say _where_ , though. I'm guessing it's a candy shop?"

She followed him out through the door and looked around the street. It was hard to see through the people and cars, but she didn't see any sign of a candy shop anywhere.

"I wouldn't know if there's one around here. Did you call him back?" She asked, her fingers fiddling with the strap of her purse.

"I tried. He didn't answer."

She hummed. "Did you try anyone else?"

"Kyoya and Haruhi are together, but they're not with the others." He _had_ asked the clerk where the candy shop was, but even she wasn't completely sure where it was.

"So, we all got separated?" Nanako felt a sense of panic start to grow at the base of her spine. This was the last thing she wanted to happen. They all probably had no idea where they were or where they were going, so the chances of finding them were getting slimmer with every passing second.

"Why don't we tell everyone to meet back at your house? That way we aren't running around the city all day looking for each other." Kaoru suggested, and she nodded.

"That's a great plan! But, there's a slight problem with it."

"What?"

She smiled at him awkwardly. "I don't know how to get back to my house."

He stared at her in shock. "You don't know—how do you forget where you live?"

"Okay, it's not my fault! Every time I've gone home I've been distracted by something." She crossed her arms. "The first time I was asleep because my dad brought me here _before sunrise_."

"Still, you know your address, right?"

"Well… yes, but—"

"Then we can go to an internet café and use a computer to get directions."

She nodded. "Smart…but where's the nearest internet café?"

It was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

They spent a lot of time walking around looking for a café, but after an hour of searching, they began to ask people for directions. It took a few tries, but they eventually found their way to a small café above a bookstore and sat down at a computer to figure out how to get back to her house.

While Nanako was trying to memorize a path to get back to her house, Kaoru called Hikaru and Kyoya again. Both parties seemed to be incredibly far away from where they were when Nanako put in the general area he told her they were in. Kyoya and Haruhi had gone back to Nanako's apartment, but because they couldn't get in, they were spending their time helping a woman bring up various items into her apartment.

Tamaki, Hikaru, Honey, and Mori were even farther out than Nanako and Kaoru were. Apparently, they had found a cake shop and Honey practically ate out the entire store.

Neither of them was surprised.

Nanako looked at the time and told Kaoru to have them start heading back to her place. By the time they would get back to her place, they would all be hungry—well, most of them—and she would be able to make them dinner and send them home.

Kaoru hung up the phone and pocketed it. Nanako took one last look at the screen before closing the browser and slinging her purse over her shoulder. "Okay, let's head back. It shouldn't be too difficult to get back."

When they stepped outside, however, it was raining.

"It wasn't supposed to rain today!" She had checked multiple times that morning, and there was no indication of rain anywhere.

Kaoru placed his hand on Nanako's shoulders and guided her back inside. "You stay in here. I'll be right back." He left the café and she quickly scurried over to the window to watch him dash across the street and go into a convenience store.

He came out a minute later with a large umbrella. He opened it up over his head and crossed the street carefully. She waved to the barista and met Kaoru at the bottom of the stairs.

"Now we won't get wet." He smiled gently at her as he extended his slightly wet hand. She took it without a fuss and pressed her shoulder into his arm.

"You still got wet, though."

"It's not a big deal."

They walked peacefully together, chatting about a variety of things to get to know each other a little better than they already did. They'd known each other for four months now, and while they knew a generous amount about each other, there were still things they didn't know.

He didn't know what her favorite flower was a white lily.

She didn't know his favorite genre of movie was horror.

"You seemed really happy in that photo in your room. The one with your dad."

Nanako nodded. She remembered bits and pieces of her childhood—mostly involving her father. Her mother never seemed to be around other than to dress her like a doll and force her to play instruments and dance—hobbies she never particularly liked or wanted to do.

"My dad used to spend a lot of time with me as a kid because my mother was always busy. I mean he was busy, too, but he always tried to come home and see me every night." She explained, smiling ever so slightly at the pleasant memories. "When we wouldn't have school, he'd take me to the studio and let me play around in his office, and over summer vacations, we'd go explore other parts of the country. We went to Hokkaido to visit my grandparents. It was a lot of fun."

He could tell she was happy thinking about it.

"What was your childhood like?"

He expected her to ask him eventually, but he didn't think it would be that day.

"Or, if you're not ready to tell me, you don't have to. I don't have to know right now." She must've noticed his discomfort.

He nodded. "Thank you."

Kaoru closed the umbrella and opened the building's door for her. There was no one in the lobby, though, which was weird because they specifically asked everyone to meet in the lobby.

They rose to the 10th floor slowly. When she got close enough to her door, she heard her father's laughter seeping out from under it. She pushed it open and was immediately hit in the head by a wooden spoon.

"Oh, Nana! I'm so sorry! It slipped out of my hand." Her father picked up the spoon and touched her head. "Did it hurt you? Are you bleeding?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine, it's just tender."

"Oh, you must be Kaoru," Keiichi held out a hand and gave the boy in question a firm handshake. "I'm familiar with your mother's work. I'm sure you're just as pleasant as she is. It's wonderful to meet you, finally!"

"It's nice to meet you, too, sir," Kaoru replied politely.

"Nanako, you never told me how entertaining your friends are! No wonder you seem so happy—they're such a funny bunch!"

"What?"

The rest of the host club members were gathered in the living room, all mingling amongst each other. Tamaki and Hikaru seemed the most involved with her father—both sitting near the kitchen to talk to him—while everyone else busied themselves with reading or watching TV.

"Nanako, your father is hilarious! How come you never talk about him?" Tamaki asked, poking his head through the opening that separated the kitchen from the living room.

"You've never asked." She said bluntly before hanging her purse on the coat rack and heading into the kitchen to help her father. "Do you need any help?"

"Can you check on the rice? I think it's about ready to be fluffed." Nanako headed over to the rice cooker in the corner and gently lifted the lid. It looked perfectly fine to her, so she grabbed the scoop and began to move it around.

"So, tell me, how does one operate a Host Club?" Her father asked Tamaki, and that immediately flew into a conversation of the Host Club's origins and his mission statement.

It was refreshing to hear someone talk about something they're passionate about. When Tamaki had explained everything, her father related that to his love of music and wanting to help people get their voice out into the world.

"If I wasn't as passionate as I was about my job, I don't think I'd be able to stay there, especially when I get three hours of sleep a week." He joked, laughing loudly.

Nanako had always wondered how he kept going back to work with the severe lack of sleep he experienced.

Not long after, they all sat down at the table they had extended and ate dinner—a shockingly delicious batch of chicken teriyaki and white rice—and, to Nanako, it felt like one giant family meal.

Everyone was so nice to each other, and it made her happy to see it.

After they had left a few hours (and games) after the meal, she helped clean up.

"You don't need my permission to date him, you know."

She dropped the plate into the soapy water. Her cheeks blew up with red as she stared at her father.

"I may be oblivious to some things, but I'm not oblivious to love." He pointed at the water. "Keep washing!"

She slowly continued.

"I think he's really nice. He cares a lot, too. I can tell by the look in his eyes." He took the plate she handed him and dried it off. "The only thing I don't want is grandchildren. I'm not that old yet!"

They laughed together.

Later that night, after she had called Kaoru and said goodnight to her dad, she rolled over and stared at her desk. There was a small bag on it, near the edge. Her eyebrows knitted in confusion and she threw her sheets off her to look at it.

She opened the bag and pulled out a small trinket—a glossy white and pink box—and opened it up. A small panda in a pink tutu began to dance around while a soft, joyous, cute tune began to play.

There was a small folded up piece of paper in the lid.

" _Here's something to commemorate our first official date. It's just as cute as you were today.  
Love, Kaoru"_

The tune had stopped playing. The bear had stopped spinning.

Her tears, however, did not stop. They started, and then wouldn't stop, no matter how hard she willed herself to stop.

She cried for many reasons.

She cried over the gift. She cried over the date. She cried over how much she knew she loved him. She cried because she knew he loved her.

She cried because she knew everything she loved in this world would be taken away from her eventually, and she didn't know when. She cried because she knew that everything she felt in this world was actually fake.

She knew one day she would wake up back in her broken little home, listen to her fussy parents, and be forced to live her life without everyone here.

Nanako pressed her sleeves to her eyes and sobbed. Even after her father came in to check on her, it took a full hour before she calmed down enough to fall asleep.

How was she to know that love could be so heartbreaking?

* * *

 **I feel so bad for Nanako. I wish I didn't have to do this to her.**

 **I wasn't sure what exactly I wanted to do with this chapter, but I think it turned out pretty well (despite how sad it ended).**

 **Sadly, this is the end of my break, and I don't think I have the motivation to write for two more episodes. I don't know if I'll be on hiatus until I have another break, but if I do find the inspiration to write, I'll still post it on a Saturday! So, while it may not be weekly, I'll see what I can do!**

 **Thank you so much for adding this story to your favorites and alerts. It means a lot to see you guys like it enough to follow it! While I do wish there are more reviews, I'm not going to force you.**

 **I'll see you guys next chapter!**


	19. Hidden Truths

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Nineteen: Hidden Truths

* * *

"I'm terribly sorry about that."

Nanako would never be able to explain it, but Tamaki had somehow kicked a ball so hard that it went over one side of the school and entered the window on the other, hitting the Newspaper Club president in the back of the head.

Although, in her personal opinion, she felt as if he deserved it. She was looking through the previous edition of the paper and frowning at all the false information inside of it.

' _ **Student missing for a month—kidnapped by yakuza?**_ _'_ She rolled her eyes. _If someone was kidnapped, it would've been on the news._

The current edition was the same way—filled with gossip-inducing titles rather than facts or interviews.

"No, not at all. It was just a mari ball breaking through the window, and hitting me right on the head." While the president's tone sounded nice, it was obvious that there was an attitude underneath.

Nanako folded the paper up and tossed it onto the pile of unsold papers.

"Sorry!"

"However, this works out perfectly. In fact, I was just thinking about asking the Host Club to let us do a story on you."

"There's a Newspaper club here?" Haruhi asked, sweeping up the broken glass that had (somehow) made it beyond the desk.

"Well, there's _this,_ anyhow."

"It's more like a gossip magazine. It covers the school's love affairs, class divisions caused by family power struggles, and so on."

"It specializes in scandals. It's all made up, so no one reads it anymore."

The president jumped in his chair. "It's true, we've lost sight of the truth as we've focused on getting attention."

Nanako felt her jaw move as her mind began to say, _If you know that, then why aren't you doing anything to fix it?,_ but she held her tongue and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"However, with us being this close to getting shut down, our eyes have finally opened. We're very aware what we should be covering, and reporting on." He stood from his chair and the three members of the club bowed. "We beg you, for the last paper of the first term, we would like you to let us reveal the truth behind your hidden charm in an up-close, special edition covering the host club. Please offer us your help."

 _No,_ Nanako found herself thinking. _No way we're doing that for you. Fix your own mistakes, don't use others for your own personal gain._

"Leave it to me. On behalf of the host club, I acc-?!" Tamaki had two hands violently slammed onto his mouth and pulled him into a backward bend. He was surprised to see Nanako glaring into his eyes with enough cold in them to send shivers down his spine.

"We must decline."

Tamaki began to wiggle free, but Nanako quickly put him into a tight chokehold and shushed him.

"Unfortunately, we limit any information about us to our guests. We will gladly agree to pay any costs related to treating your injury." Kyoya calmly explained.

"Yeah, I don't think there's any benefit in helping you out after all the nonsense you've written," Kaoru noted, looking at his brother.

"Not only that, we're just not much for people who make trouble for others."

"Essentially, we don't want to agree and then have you misconstrue what we say just to make your paper interesting. Not only that, but you'd be using us to make yourself popular, and that's not something we want." Nanako squeezed her arms together causing Tamaki to let out a strangled yelp.

"Is that so… I guess you can't really erase the sins of the past, huh? You can't get people to offer you a chance to redeem yourself, huh?"

 _Not when you probably had many chances in the past, no._

"Ahh! The pain in my head!"

"President!"

Tamaki had stopped struggling in her arms and after a stern look, Nanako let him go. She was ready to get out of here, especially since the president started doing a poor job at theatrics—blatantly trying to guilt trip them into helping them.

It wasn't working.

"That's not true!"

Apparently, it _was_ working.

"People can always make a fresh start! Very well. We will rally the strength of the Host Club and work all-out to re-establish the Newspaper Club!"

"Not us."

Nanako immediately followed the twins out.

"We'll never be able to go along with how trusting you always are, sir."

"Besides, it's too much trouble."

"We're leaving, Tamaki. We're holding an evaluation meeting in the club room. Oh, and it's about you."

Everyone was leaving Tamaki. They weren't going to involve themselves in this mess.

"Hold it! Do none of you have any humanity? Can you look on them, being forced to shut down their club, and not take any pity on them? Their family is breaking up! This is an order from the club president! I will not allow you to refuse."

The Twins, Kyoya, and Nanako turned their heads and shot Tamaki the coldest glares. "We refuse!"

Tamaki broke.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"He's mad at us."

"He's acting like a child."

"Tama-chan gets lonely easily, after all."

It wasn't long before Tamaki began to look over at them with puppy-dog eyes every few seconds.

It took three looks to narrow it down to Nanako and Kyoya. Kyoya was unmoving and Nanako didn't seem to care.

"I'm not caving." She murmured. She had been through the same situation with him a few times before, and each time she had put her foot down and not allowed his foolishness to get the better of her.

Tamaki knew better than to look at her, so his next look, he looked Kyoya directly in the eyes.

Kyoya adjusted his glasses. "There will be some conditions."

"You caved?!" Nanako asked horrendously, shocked that stone-cold Kyoya would break under the look.

If anything, Kyoya should be worried about Nanako taking his title as 'mommy.'

"The outline for the special feature articles will be submitted by us. Interviews will be cardinally prohibited. Views of us entertaining the customers will be intrusive to them, so they are out. Is that okay with everyone?"

Everyone agreed, but it took Nanako a moment to answer.

She groaned. "Fine. But if I get any feeling that this is going south, I'm ending it, with or without your authorization."

Kyoya, surprisingly, agreed to that.

Haruhi stared in shock. Kyoya must've held a large amount of respect for her, despite her age, to let her have the same amount of authority over the situation as he did.

It was strange, but interesting.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

' _It would be much appreciated if you could make lunches for the club members. Appearances are everything.'_

Nanako turned off the stove and wiped her hands on her apron. She had just finished making dinner when she received a text from Kyoya.

She checked the fridge and sighed. There wasn't enough food in there to split between eight people. She untied the apron and tossed it on the counter before slinging her purse around her shoulder. "I'm going shopping! You can start eating without me!"

"Aww, but I want to eat with you! I'll just keep it warm!" Her father replied.

She was back within the hour with food as well as bento containers.

The two of them ate together before she began cooking everything that was going to go in the lunches.

The following day, instead of hosting, the eight of them went outside to put up a farce for the Newspaper Club.

Currently, the boys (and Haruhi) were playing Daruma-san Fell Over while Nanako sat off to the side on a large blanket. They had asked her to play with them, but she declined politely after stating that she needed to watch over the food; however, it wasn't the food she was watching, it was to make sure their guests didn't pull any tricks in secret.

She had decided that, since the Newspaper Club was standing in confusion, she could take a moment to enjoy the weather. Not long after she had closed her eyes, she noticed a spot of shade covering her. She wasn't anywhere near the shade, so she immediately knew someone had come to stand in front of her.

She opened one eye and saw the president of the newspaper club standing there with a notebook and pen in his hand.

"Morikawa-san, might I—"

"Interviews are not allowed. Please leave the members of the host club alone."

"But, technically, you're not a mem—"

"Please. Leave."

Despite the sun beaming down on them, the president suddenly felt very cold.

Nanako exhaled deeply and raised her teacup to her mouth. "Not a member of the host club." She scoffed. "I'm as much a member as the rest of them."

After a while, Nanako opened her eyes to see that the Newspaper Club had fled the scene. As she looked around, she noticed that the members of the Host Club were missing, too.

How long had she been sitting there?

She flipped open her phone and then promptly closed it. They had gotten out here around four and it was ten minutes until five. Her area had been left undisturbed and the lunches were still there.

"Hello?" She called loudly, hoping someone would answer her. She walked around and yelled out a few more times before getting a response back.

"Nanako!"

Her head whipped around towards the maze. She saw Nova hovering slightly above pointing down into it. "There's two in here."

"Nanako, have you seen Tamaki and Haruhi?"

Nanako jumped in fright. Kaoru stared at her in confusion for a moment. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I think they're lost in the maze."

Sure enough, they were.

"Where's the Newspaper Club?"

"Something urgent came up and they've stopped covering us."

Nanako sighed in relief. "Good."

"Let's go back to the club room and eat some cake!" Honey suggested from atop Mori's shoulders.

"Yeah."

"No, no, wait a minute." Nanako trotted forward and turned around to walk backward. "I graciously made lunches for all of us and we're going to eat them! I'm not letting anything go to waste."

"You made food for us? Nanako, you're so sweet!" Tamaki tried to pull her into a hug but she dodged with grace.

"Oh, no. I'm still mad at you for accepting their offer when they were just trying to use you for their benefit. I told you this and you didn't listen!"

"But Nanako…"

"I don't want to hear it! I should be punishing you."

Tamaki dropped his head sadly.

"Even though it's Kyoya's title," Kaoru began.

"You fit it much better than he does." Hikaru finished.

Nanako's face turned red. "What?!"

"She can have it," Kyoya stated with a sly smile.

"No! I'm not—"

"Okaa-san, Okaa-san!" The twins began to chant, looking back at her with mischievous smiles.

"Stop that!" She pulled off her shoe and proceeded to throw it at them, missing by mere inches when they moved away. They picked up her shoe and began to trot off with it.

"You two are horrible!" She hollered, chasing after them with her other shoe in her hand to hit them with.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Summer break was close. In fact, the students only had two days until they were let out, and they all seemed to be buzzing with excitement.

Even the normally straight-faced Nanako was smiling more than usual, which was a surprise to many.

On her way to the Host Club, someone called out to her. She looked over her shoulder to see Arisa waving at her.

"How are you?" Nanako asked with a smile as her senior caught up to her. "You look a little…"

Arisa had a bandage wrapped around her right ankle and knee. "Ah, that?" Arisa chuckled. "I went to dive for the ball at practice yesterday, and I turned too fast… so my ankle popped and then I slammed my knee on the ground seconds after that." She stuck her leg out slightly to look at her injury. "I should've been more careful, but it's not the first time I've injured myself. However, the club is allowing me 'presidential leave' because of it."

"Sorry that happened. I can't imagine how it must've felt." Nanako's leg jerked slightly at the mere thought of the pain.

"You don't have to be sorry. It happens here and there. Although it does give me a chance to visit you at the Host Club."

"Wouldn't you want to be hosted, though?" Nanako asked.

"Being doted over by men is…nice and all, but I'd rather just sit and talk with you." Nanako didn't notice Arisa's red cheeks.

"I'm not that interesting, though. All I do is wait tables."

"Not interesting, are you kidding me?" Arisa's voice raised in alarm but quickly quieted when she locked eyes with Nanako. "I don't know a lot about you, and it's hard to get to know you when we're in different classes and I'm always at practice… you seemed really cool at the beach."

"Maybe that was because I get really competitive." Nanako laughed it off.

Arisa felt her eyebrow twitch. Was Nanako _that_ oblivious or was she not being clear enough?

"I'd be okay with hosting you today, but you have to let me do my job first."

"That's fine by me. I can wait for you as long as it takes."

"It shouldn't take too long."

Nanako pushed open the door and didn't even notice Arisa's incredulous stare of frustration at the back of her head.

Were crushes always this frustrating?

Arisa seated herself at a table near the window. It took a few minutes but she slowly came to terms with the fact that she had subtly hinted her feelings towards the girl and they had flown over her head. Her brown eyes flickered up to see Nanako pushing a cart around with grace and easily placing food and drinks in front of the guests who were already seated and chatting with the other hosts.

As she stopped at the table with the twins, Nanako poured several cups of tea and then turned her head towards one of the twins. They said something to her, and she made an unamused face. The two girls who were sitting with the twins at the time giggled. As Nanako tried to turn away, they said something else to her and she looked as if she was holding back a smile. Arisa was too far away to hear anything, which was unfortunate because Arisa _really_ wanted to know what was going on.

Arisa checked her phone.

' _I hope you're not using your time off to go to the Host Club.'_

Quickly snapping her phone shut, she slipped it back into her bag and send a silent apology to Shizue.

"I have a bit of time before my next round." Nanako placed a cup of tea in front of her senior and sat down with her own.

Arisa raised the cup to her lips.

"How are things with you and your family?" She asked, pushing aside the question she really wanted to ask. She really wanted to know what the relationship between her and the twins was, but she would ask that some other time.

Something in her heart told her she wouldn't want to hear the answer right now.

For now, she would enjoy the little moments like these. Nanako seemed happy to talk about her father and her room and her outstanding grades…and Arisa was perfectly fine listening to it all.

She would listen to Nanako talk about everything if it meant they would grow closer. That was all she wanted.

She wanted to be close to the blue-eyed beauty.

After an hour, Arisa practically forced herself to leave because the pain in her leg had increased from the painkillers wearing off. She needed to go home immediately.

Waving to Nanako, she walked out of the club room and somehow managed to make it to the gates without falling onto her face.

It was going to be a long summer break.

* * *

 **Hello everyone!**

 **My hiatus is still continuing. I haven't had a lot of motivation lately because I've been busy with school, but hopefully, I'll be able to work through the next few chapters soon.**

 **I really wanted to get a lot of work done over spring break, but it didn't end up happening. Creativity is hard to come by sometimes. I have high standards for the world I put out for this story, and what I was writing just wasn't doing it for me.**

 **I did manage to finish this chapter, and now you can look forward to Karuizawa! I'm going to see what I can do, but expect an actual date between Kaoru and Nanako. I figured I should stop pushing things off and just let them be together, you know? Technically they're not even dating yet, so that tells you a thing or two about how I'm trying to progress their relationship.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It's a little bland for my taste, but it's alright. I'll hopefully see you guys soon!**


	20. Double Trouble

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter 20: Double Trouble

* * *

"Nee-chan,"

" _OOMPH,_ "

Two bodies collided violently with Nanako's body, abruptly waking her from her slumber and shooting pain all through her lower half.

"Nee-ko,"

The two small bodies began to shift their weight at opposite times, causing Nanako to move up and down in her bed.

"I'm hungry," One of them complained.

"I want to go outside," The other one whined.

"We want to watch anime," The two of them stood up on either side of her aching form and stared down at her menacingly.

Nanako breathed in a shallow patch of hair and hoisted herself upright. "Hiro, I'll get you something to eat in a minute. Yuki, we can go out somewhere later today. And both of you could've turned on the TV if you really wanted to watch anime that badly."

When Nanako had returned home from spending a day out with Kaoru, the four-year-old twins had been inside of her home, sitting on the couch and watching television. Her father briefly explained to her that he had offered her as a babysitter so he and his coworker could go out scouting for talent in Hokkaido for the next few days.

The coworker's wife wasn't in the country and he didn't know anyone well enough to leave his kids with, so Keiichi generously offered to help him out, to Nanako's dismay.

She didn't voice it, but she could only tolerate kids in small dosages.

They were going to be gone for at least three days, meaning she would be spending over _seventy-two_ _ **hours**_ with children she wasn't even related to, let alone know anything about.

So far, all they've managed to show her was the fact that they spent too much time together, ate too much food, asked for too many things, and liked to cling onto her despite her numerous attempts to get them off.

She was honestly surprised her head hadn't exploded yet.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Eggs Benedict!" Hiro cheered, hopping off Nanako's bed and immediately running up to her as she slid her legs out.

"I want French toast!" Yuki cheered as she followed suit and latched herself onto to Nanako's leg.

Nanako wanted to scream.

"How about you settle for omurice? That sounds good to me."

"Okay!" The twins said in unison, staring up at her with toothy grins.

It was around ten in the morning when her phone began to ring. She had been in the middle of brushing her teeth when she heard the familiar ringtone from her room. Still circling the brush around, she padded over to her room and picked up the phone.

"Hewo?" She asked with a mouth full of foam.

"Did I wake you?" Kaoru asked, but Nanako shook her head instinctively.

"Hor on,"

She rushed back to the bathroom and rinsed her mouth out. "Sorry, I was brushing my teeth." She laughed lightly. "What's up?"

"The Host Club is taking a trip to Karuizawa. We're on our way to get you right now."

Nanako stared at herself in the mirror.

She hadn't showered, her hair wasn't brushed, her face was breaking out with acne, she still had sleep in her eyes, and she _still_ had to watch those children.

"How far away are you?"

"About three blocks."

" _That close and you call me now?!_ " She stumbled out of the bathroom and ran to her closet. "I'm not even near ready to go out! I'm still in my sleepwear!" Yanking a pair of shorts out, she slipped out of her pajamas and rushed to pull them on.

"You're usually up pretty early so I thought you'd be at least somewhat ready."

"I was up until two in the morning trying to put children to bed."

"Children?"

"Yes. Children."

She pulled on a bra and tossed her phone onto the bed long enough so she could pull on a loose shirt and tuck it into her shorts. She picked up her phone, grabbed her purse, and turned to see Hiro standing in the doorway.

"Hiro go get dressed."

"Are those real?"

"HIRO!"

"Nanako?"

Hiro dashed out of the room.

"I just accidentally showed a four-year-old my breasts."

"…Oh…"

It was silent for a solid ten seconds while Nanako slipped on a pair of sandals.

"I'm coming up now."

"Okay."

She snapped her phone shut and made her way to the door.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

On the way down, Nanako held Yuki on her hip and Kaoru watched over Hiro. When they got to the limo, Nanako was immediately bombarded with questions as to who the kids were, if they were related to her, and why she was watching them.

Hiro proudly introduced himself and then promptly stated that he saw Nanako's breasts.

Nanako had never wanted to crawl into a hole and die more than that moment.

"I've never been in a helicopter before!" Hiro exclaimed as they arrived at their destination—a helipad that would fly them to Karuizawa for a reason unknown to Nanako. She did notice that Haruhi was missing, but she assumed it was because she didn't want to come.

She never expected they were going on a rescue mission _to get Haruhi_.

They didn't even bother to tell her until Tamaki was leaning halfway out of the helicopter screaming into a microphone that projected his voice for all to hear.

Despite the noise, Yuki was passed out in Nanako's lap and practically drooling all over her shirt. She was lucky she brought an extra pair of clothes for everyone in her party.

As soon as they landed the helicopter—don't ask her how they managed, but somehow, they did—the host club immediately encroached upon Haruhi's business and entered the pension despite her asking them not to.

"If I would've known they were coming to cause trouble, I would've stopped them. However, no one told me anything until the last minute." Nanako glared at Kaoru who was standing just off to the side with Hiro clinging onto his back.

It was apparent that Kaoru was not going to look at her for a while because he knew as soon as she caught him alone, she would not show mercy towards his actions.

Tamaki had asked him not to tell Nanako the plan for a reason because they all knew that if she realized what they were doing, she would've put an end to it immediately.

She was becoming a force to be reckoned with.

"It's fine. I just hope they don't do anything too disruptive." Haruhi suddenly noticed the small hands that were locked together just beneath Nanako's hair. "I didn't know you had siblings."

"I don't." Nanako sighed. "I'm spending the first part of my summer vacation babysitting children I don't even know. It has not been easy." Nanako leaned forward and shimmied the sleeping girl up her back. "I think this is my punishment for not helping you with Kirimi."

Haruhi laughed lightly. "What goes around comes around."

"You got that right."

"Oh my! What cute boys we have here! Are you all friends with Haruhi? You can call me Misuzu-chi!"

This was the second tranny Nanako had seen in her entire life, and all in a short period of time. Still, she was pretty convincing, in Nanako's opinion—despite the shocked looks several of the host club members had on their faces.

"He was a friend of Ranka-san, together at the shop, way back," Kyoya stated.

"How do you know that?" Tamaki asked.

"I started this business here two years ago," Misuzu-chi began to spin around and Nanako took a step back to avoid being hit by her widespread arms. "It was my dream, you know? Running this adorable pension!"

"But why is Haru-chan working here?"

"Ranka-san is away on business, and while he's away he's worried about Haruhi, so he had him take her in."

"I'm really starting to wonder if there's anything you _don't_ know." Nanako moved to the side to avoid Hiro latching onto her leg, but he apparently planned for that because he aimed at where she moved. "Hiro, you are four years old, you do not need to latch onto me like a newborn child."

Hiro stuck his tongue out at her.

"Hiro, let go of Nee-ko." Yuki murmured into Nanako's neck, shifting her weight slightly so she could move and continue sleeping.

Nanako wasn't sure how she could do it with all this noise.

"Take her in, he says! I still can't afford to hire any employees, so having Haruhi come here has been a tremendous help!" Misuzu-chi grabbed Haruhi by the shoulders and began shaking her around. "She's really such a hard worker, I feel sorry that her wages are so low. Oh, Haruhi-chan, you're so cute in that apron! I made it by hand!"

"Wow! I can't believe it. It's so well made!" Nanako gaped at the apron. Some people are just insanely talented when it comes to designing.

Sadly, Nanako was not.

It didn't take long for the Host Club members to migrate outside to talk over tea. Nanako dropped three spoonfuls of sugar into her cup and stirred.

"Can I have more sugar?"

"Are you going to spill it on yourself like you did with your juice this morning?"

Hiro stared at her. "…No."

Nanako hesitantly put another spoonful of sugar in his cup, stirred it, and watched him as he began to gulp it down. "Please be careful."

"How did you end up babysitting? I thought you could only watch kids over short periods of time?"

Nanako looked at Hikaru blankly. "Well, I didn't go out and accept a babysitting job, if that's what you're implying. My dad and his coworker were going to scout in Hokkaido, and these are the coworker's kids. That one is Hiro and this is Yuki. They're four years old."

"And twins!" Hiro chimed in excitedly.

Yuki, who had finally woken up, was sitting on Nanako's lap eating a lemon slice.

"How are you eating that? Isn't it sour?" Nanako questioned, leaning forward slightly so the girl could look at her.

"Lemons are my favorite fruit. And yes, it's sour, but I don't really like sweets." She answered politely, shoving the slice into her mouth and making a face at Hiro who stared at her in disgust.

"She's crazy. Sweets are the best thing in the world!" He raised his arms up with the teacup still in his hand and the contents went flying towards Kyoya who was sitting about five feet away. It didn't reach the shadow king, luckily, but Nanako immediately took the teacup from Hiro and placed it in the center of the table.

"I told you to be careful."

"I forgot I didn't finish all of it." He pouted. "I want more. Do you have any candy?"

"No."

"Can we go buy candy?"

"No."

"But Nee-chan!"

"No, Hiro."

He frowned at her. Then, without another thought, he trotted over to Honey and started asking him for sweets.

"So, Haruhi, a job for the summer? Sounds exciting." Nanako's eyebrow twitched as she tried to move the conversation along.

"That's why you turned down our invitation to go to Bali, right?" Hikaru and Kaoru both leaned their elbows on the table and rested their chins in their hand

"And we asked her to go along with us to Switzerland, huh?" Honey had given Hiro a piece of chocolate and the boy was now jumping around happily.

"She doesn't have a passport, remember? That's why we went to the beach and not out of the country." She looked at Haruhi. "Although she also declined my invitation to go to Atami, too."

"It's also why I suggested we use one of our domestic resorts, at a discount."

"A discount? That sounds interesting. I'd love to take you up on that offer." Nanako smiled at Kyoya.

"You have the means of paying for it." Came Kyoya's cold reply.

"So cruel. Even after I took your place as 'Mommy'. Maybe I should just hand it back over."

"That title is non-transferrable."

"But it transferred to me!"

"It's no longer transferrable now that you own it."

Nanako clicked her tongue. _What a cold person._

"How come you guys are inviting Haruhi out by yourselves like this? Are you just out for yourselves? Have you no sense of solidarity?" Tamaki, for whatever reason, was hiding in the bushes until he began talking. "I work so hard as your president, day in and day out, to come up with plans so that all of us can enjoy ourselves together."

"You turned off your cell phone didn't you?"

"You can't do that!"

"But it's such a pain."

Tamaki walked up to the table where Hikaru, Kaoru, and Haruhi were holding up their identical cell phones. "You've got a cell, did you say?"

"Yeah, but I should say it's one that we lent to Haruhi."

"By the way, it's one that's only for friends."

"Sir, you're our ' _senpai_ ' after all."

Nanako's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. She could not believe what she just heard. A choked laugh escaped her throat, and she quickly covered it up with a cough.

"Then, I'm also in the friends category that includes daddies."

"There's no such friends category."

"And please don't call yourself daddy."

"Look, just leave, please, everyone. We'll all see each other come the new term anyhow whether we want to or not. We're all free to spend our vacations on our own, right?"

"School rule number 9: Part-time work is prohibited." Kyoya immediately whipped out the school handbook.

"Er…um… is that right?" Haruhi's face clearly looked panicked. She didn't want to get in trouble for something so trivial—especially since she didn't know it was prohibited!

"Did you hear? That girl has a job without the school's permission!"

"My, she has some nerve, huh?"

"You two need to stop," Nanako warned, pointing her finger at the red-headed duo.

"It's nice to come out to Karuizawa once in a while to get out of the heat, huh?"

"I've gotten tired of going overseas."

This was exactly what Haruhi wanted to avoid, and Nanako knew it, too. She looked at her friend and sent a silent apology her way.

"It is true, you are free to spend your vacation on your own. In which case, you would have no grounds to stop us. Let's all stay here at this pension in the VIP guest rooms."

"Oh dear Kami-sama," Nanako muttered.

"That means us too, right, Nee-chan?" Hiro yanked on her hand with a huge smile on his face.

"I like it here." Yuki pulled her fourth lemon slice from her mouth and placed it on a napkin before bawling it up and turning it over. For being a kid, she sure had manners.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Then can you get a hotel or something? We like hotels!"

"I don't think there are hotels in the area." Nanako knew there were hotels, but she didn't want to tell Hiro that. The sooner she got home, the better. Besides, they only brought enough clothes for one extra day, and with the Host Club, who knows how long they were going to spend around Haruhi.

It could end up being a week for all she knew, and she didn't want to be away from the house when her father came back from scouting.

"Well can we…"

It took a full ten minutes to shoot down every question Hiro asked her, but at that point, Misuzu-chi had informed them that they only had one room available.

The twins decided that they would all play a game to see who gets to stay in the guest bedroom.

"Count me out. I'm not going to disturb Haruhi."

"We want to play!" The younger twins shouted excitedly, completely drowning out Nanako's voice as they rushed up to the creators of the game and began pulling on their clothes.

"You two! I swear!"

And so, the game of seeing who could impress Misuzu-chi the most with helping out with the pension began.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"We're teaming up!"

"You're what?"

Nanako stared at the group. Hikaru and Kaoru stood proudly in front of Hiro and Yuki who mimicked their poses almost identically.

"We figured because we're twins," Hikaru began.

"We can work together for a while," Kaoru continued.

"So that in the end," Hiro smiled.

"It will be the two groups of twins with the highest points!" Yuki lifted her fists to her face and looked up at Nanako with determination.

"So…Are you guys going to split up at the end, then? Because only one of you can stay."

"Yep!" They all chimed in together.

Nanako paused for a moment and then walked up to Kaoru. She gave him a hug and kissed his cheek. "I'm sure you guys will have fun, but don't let them get hurt." She pulled his ear down to her mouth. "Don't let them win, either. I'm not going to spend the night sleeping in the same bed with them. They're wild sleepers." She patted his shoulder and looked at the younger twins.

"No running in the streets and don't pick up anything heavy. Show the others no mercy!"

They cheered and Nanako left them alone.

Nanako decided that, instead of sitting around by herself for the next few hours, she would take a walk around and perhaps scout for anything that might interest the kids. She got herself a glass of water before she left and checked her phone to see if she had anything she missed.

There was a photo of her dad posing in a canoe, pointing towards the sky. The message itself said, " _There's always time for something fun!"_

Sometimes Nanako wondered how he got any work done at all. She replied with a question about when he planned to begin scouting.

Nanako glanced over to see Hiro and Yuki toting up a guest's small bags up the stairs. They seemed to be enjoying themselves so far, which was good, because the less time she spent with them, the better she felt.

It wasn't that she _hated_ kids, it was more like her patience for children was very thin and very short. It definitely was not something that should be messed with.

She hesitantly entered the kitchen area to wash out the glass and she put it in the strainer.

It took about ten minutes to walk into town. When she got there, she was surprised to see that it was so full of people. I mean, she would've assumed there were many, but not _this_ many. It was hard to count people from the helicopter, not that she thought to do that.

There were also a lot of good looking men around, and when she said a lot, she meant more than usual. There seemed to be one every few feet, and it was absolutely crazy that there were so many in such a small area!

A girl can still admire beauty, right?

There were a few things she noted, an occasional shop or stand that she hoped would be there later, but there were also cute little things for kids, too.

She found the nearest hotel and went inside to inquire about the price, and she was surprised that it was pretty reasonable. She reserved a room just in case and headed back out to the shopping district.

 _If I can get someone to watch the kids, Kaoru and I could probably go on a date. Maybe Tamaki would look after them? He likes kids, and I'm sure they would like him._ Nanako was window shopping when she noticed her reflection and immediately thought of something.

 _Kaoru and I aren't officially dating yet._

The thought hadn't crossed her mind. They were in a good spot relationship wise, but there was never any talk about actually being a couple. Perhaps they both so entranced with each other and how things were going that it was just lost in translation…or something.

Whatever the reason was, they 'were' an item but at the same time they 'weren't' an item, if that made any sense.

 _I should get him something while I'm out so I can surprise him._

"Hi,"

A hand gently touched her arm and she jumped.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you,"

"N-no, it's fine. Was I in your way?" She asked quickly, beginning to move aside.

"Not at all. Although there is something in the way."

She looked the man up and down. His brown hair was unruly in a ruggedly handsome kind of way, and he definitely looked like he took care of himself and his body. His outfit, despite being casual, was perfectly placed and coordinated. If it wasn't for his hair, she would've said there wasn't a thing out of place on him. He surely wasn't her age, but he was still pretty good looking. If she were to pick an age, she would've guessed he was over twenty.

She was sixteen.

Plus she had a boyfriend.

Not officially, but technically.

"What?" She asked hesitantly.

"Me not knowing your name, beautiful."

Her heart reeled in panic. Something in the pit of her stomach did not sit right. She felt uncomfortable.

"Um…" She awkwardly looked away for a second to see if there was anywhere she could slip off to so she could escape.

"My name is Makoto." He leaned closer to her, so close that she could smell whatever pungent cologne he decided to douse himself in and it burned her nostrils. "What's your name, baby?"

"I don't talk to strangers," She said as firmly as she could, taking two steps back before turning and almost running into someone else. She apologized and tried to scurry away, but a large hand wrapped around her wrist.

"Sweetie, where are you going? We're just getting to know each other." His voice was becoming increasingly sleazier with every passing moment.

Yanking her wrist away violently, she felt something pop in her arm and a small prickle of pain shot all the way down into her fingers. "Don't touch me, I don't know you."

"I'm sure we could get to know each other real quick." He made some kind of jerking motion with his head.

"I don't-?" She bumped into someone else. "Excuse…"

"What's your rush darling?"

There were now two men, this other one a little less handsome and a little more rugged than the other one.

She was not in a good situation.

There were so many people but no one seemed to notice anything.

"I… I have to go." She bolted.

Avoiding people while sprinting was probably the hardest thing she ever had to do. It didn't help that she was taller than most of the women, so they would be able to spot her above them all. Her hand darted towards her pocket where she put her phone, but when her hand went in, all she felt was the space where her phone should have been.

Where had she put her phone?

With her mind reeling, trying to figure out where she put the damn thing, she ran into a child who was running at her—neither of them seeing each other until the last possible minute. They collided and Nanako fell back on the ground.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you," The kid held his hand to his forehead and apologized.

"No, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." Nanako helped him up and noticed that she had scraped her hand pretty badly. When she looked at her injury, it looked like she had scraped off a layer of skin from her rough landing, not to mention her wrist felt tender.

"Be careful next time, okay?" She muttered before briskly walking off and heading into a store. She walked all the way to the back and picked up an article of clothing to try on.

The woman unlocked the changing room, but before she could go, Nanako stopped her.

"If some guy with messy brown hair and a blue color coordinated outfit comes in, please knock on my door and ask me if I need a larger size."

The worker nodded in confusion and left her alone.

Nanako sighed and plopped down on the seat. Her hands were trembling and her heart was beating, both from nervousness and from her exercising for that short period of time.

She didn't know if they had followed her, but if they did, hopefully, they didn't see her come in the store. Her hand burned. She needed a bandage or something. She'd have to wait until she got back to the pension to get it.

It was a long ten minutes before she decided it was safe to leave. She poked her head out and put the shirt back, sending a quick thank you to the worker and exiting the store after glancing around through the window.

Her brisk walk back to the pension took seven minutes instead of the leisurely ten it took to get to town.

It was about four thirty when she entered the pension.

"Welcome!" Two excited voices chanted together. "Ah, it's Nee-ko!"

"Nee-chan!"

Her legs were engulfed in hugs.

"We're so glad you're back! We didn't know where you went and we were so worried!" Hiro sounded like he wanted to cry.

"We looked everywhere for you! We thought you left because you didn't like us." Yuki had huge blubbery tears in her eyes.

Admittedly, she _did_ leave because she didn't want to be there, but she didn't leave because she didn't like them…

She knelt in front of them. "Hey, now, don't make those faces." She ran her fingers through Yuki's dark hair. "Just because I might not like children all that much doesn't mean I'm going to run off and leave you guys. You're my responsibility. Plus, while I don't like everything you guys do, I can still tolerate you because you're generally mature."

They looked at her and then at themselves.

"Nee-chan!"

They hugged her with teary laughter.

"What a loving gesture! Five points!"

"Yes!" The younger twins cheered and high-fived each other. Nanako gaped at them.

"You little rats! You used me!"

"Sorry, Nee-ko," Yuki held up her hand to her grin.

"We need to win the game. No hard feelings." Hiro placed his hands behind his head and trotted off.

"I can't believe it." Nanako sighed and sauntered off to find her bag. Where did she put it?

She couldn't remember.

"Are you looking for your bag?" Nanako smiled crookedly at Haruhi.

"Yes. And I also misplaced my phone." She admitted with a laugh.

"I put it in your bag. It was in the kitchen."

Now that she knew that, Nanako remembered putting it down when she washed out the cup.

"Whoops." She murmured. Haruhi returned shortly with her bag and Nanako sifted through it to find the bandages. Washing her injury, she moved her aching wrist around gently to see if maybe she had just knocked something out of place. The worst she could've done was sprained it. It wasn't too serious.

She wrapped her hand in the bandage and made her way out.

It was getting a little busier now that people were coming in for tea and snacks, but it wasn't horrible. Nanako decided to spend her time enjoying the weather instead of being inside.

She gently lowered herself down to the grass and used her bag as a pillow so she could stare at the sky.

In all honesty, she couldn't remember the last time she took a moment to enjoy this world by herself. She'd been so busy that she never really had a chance.

She closed her eyes and inhaled the cool air.

She didn't even notice herself falling asleep.

* * *

 **Children are a piece of work! Especially these kids…**

 **The first draft of this chapter was a lot darker than it is now, and I'm glad I rewrote it. You don't need heaps of angst and misfortune in a story to make it good.**

… **admittedly, I definitely added a few sad cutoffs to this story so far, but I think they're balanced with happy and fun moments. Plus, Ouran isn't all happy, either, so I think I can add some not so good moments here and there.**

 **I'll see you guys next chapter!**


	21. Let's Play a Game!

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Twenty-One: Let's Play a Game!

* * *

Nanako groaned. Her arms were itchy but she felt unusually warm.

She pushed herself up and blearily looked around. The sun was beginning to set, and it felt a little warmer than it did when she laid down. She looked down to see a blanket was placed over her legs. She didn't remember using a blanket.

"You're awake,"

Nanako turned her head to see Kaoru smiling at her from the deck. There was a broom and pan leaned up against the railing next to him.

"Is the game still going?" She asked with a yawn.

"Yes, but I think it's almost over." He pushed himself off the railing and walked over to help her up. "Yuki and Hiro are asleep in the guest bedroom. They surprisingly helped a lot, but they exhausted themselves about twenty minutes ago." Kaoru brushed a few stray leaves from her hair.

"They're going to be up all night." She frowned.

"Sorry," Kaoru laughed lightly.

"Oh, is it just you two? Where's Hikaru?" Haruhi rounded the corner with a basket full of bedsheets. Nanako shook out the blanket and rolled it up.

"He went to get some garbage bags."

"Oh,"

Nanako finally noticed the piano.

"Do you think you're going to win the contest?"

She walked up to one of the windows and cupped her hand against the glass so she could see inside. Sure enough, it was Tamaki sitting at the piano with a content smile on his face.

"I'm not sure. That's Kyoya-senpai for you. His highness didn't even realize there was a piano here."

Nanako stepped away from the glass and felt her phone buzz from inside her bag. She knelt down and unzipped it. She could see the light coming from the small screen on the front. When she got it out, she flipped it open to see a string of messages from her father.

She opened the first one and began to read them.

"Ah!"

The gasp came from above her. She lifted her head to see a vase falling quickly towards her head.

"Look out!"

 _*CRASH*_

"Oh my gosh, are you okay? I'm so sorry!" The woman leaning out of the window was clearly panicked.

Nanako's wrist ached in pain from, once again, ending up on the ground.

"It was close, but we're okay!" Kaoru cheerfully answered back. He might've said it happily, but Nanako could tell he was anxious by the way his hand trembled on her arm.

She gingerly lifted her wrist up and wrapped her other hand around it.

"You're okay, right?"

Nanako noticed the cut on his face immediately. "I'm fine, but you…"

"Kaoru!"

Hikaru came running up to them as soon as Kaoru noticed he was bleeding.

"Kaoru, you have a cut on your face!"

Nanako pulled her backpack close to her and dug out a bandage.

"I got a little cut, but it's not that serious."

Hikaru exhaled and dropped his forehead down to Kaoru's shoulder.

"Don't scare me like that."

Kaoru smiled. "Sorry, but I'm all right. I promise."

They smiled at each other.

Nanako suddenly felt like this was an act. It felt a little too… staged.

"Uh-?!"

"BRAVO!"

Misuzu-chi was dancing around on the roof of the pension.

 _How did she get up there?!_

"Misuzu-chi is touched! 100 points! Perfect score! The winners are the Hitachiin brothers!"

Kaoru held out his hand to Nanako, and she took it without a word. She eyed him wearily for a moment before taking the protective wrap off the bandage.

"Congratulations."

The twins turned towards Haruhi and grinned. "Don't mention it."

"Hold on! You don't mean… this was planned?"

"Well, who can say?"

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Nanako stuck a cotton swab into the small bottle of rubbing alcohol and then ran it over Kaoru's injury. He hissed in pain and grabbed her free hand causing her to jump in surprise.

"I'm just kidding," He laughed, knowing full well she would hit him.

She placed the band-aid over his cut, closed the bottle, and then hit his arm.

"Hold on, what happened to your hand?" He gently lifted her hand and turned it over.

"Oh," She hesitated for a second, "I ran into someone when I went into town and I scraped my palm on the ground. I might've hurt my wrist, too, but I'm sure if I ice it the pain will go away." She explained, trying to slowly remove her hand from his, however, Kaoru didn't allow that to happen.

"Did you land on it earlier?"

"Yes, but it didn't hurt that bad."

"That bad?"

She waved her other hand. "I mean, yes, I did land on it, but it's not that serious!" She looked down at him from his seat on the bed. He was staring at her sternly, but then his expression softened.

He pulled her forward, wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested his head on her stomach.

"There's something you're not telling me."

She was quiet for a full two minutes before she sighed and explained what happened in town. Kaoru wasn't happy about it in the slightest, but she managed to convince him that it was over and she was okay.

They stayed like that for a while before Hikaru entered the room.

She told Kaoru when she planned to be at the pension the following morning, kissed him goodbye, and walked the kids to the hotel.

Surprisingly, Hiro and Yuki weren't up all night, and she managed to fall asleep (with them sleeping next to and on her) around midnight.

Her phone rang loudly the next morning and she picked it up in a panic.

"Hel—"

"Hikaru kicked me out of the bed last night and I woke up on the floor. My back has never hurt this bad before."

Nanako rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock on the bedside table.

"Are you almost here?"

She checked the alarm and noticed that she set it for PM, not AM.

"I haven't even gotten out of the bed yet."

"Wow. The twins are really messing up your routine, huh?"

She smiled.

"I'll see you later, Nana."

The three arrived at the pension a little over thirty minutes later and found the men of the host club sitting near the bar looking in the general direction of Haruhi, who was sitting with a boy.

"Is that a friend of hers?" Nanako asked, dropping her bag to the ground and leaning on the counter of the bar.

"Yes, he's a friend from middle school," Kyoya stated.

"Oh, that's cool! I'm glad she has friends outside of us she talks to."

"If he had zero contact after graduation, he's not a friend, he's just a former classmate," Hikaru grumbled, clearly not happy with the situation at hand.

Nanako made a face and tilted her head to the side. "I mean, I don't talk to the friends I had in middle school but it doesn't mean we're not friends." Yuki tugged on the edge of Nanako's dress.

"I have to use the bathroom."

"Didn't you go before we left?"

"…No."

"Nee-chan! I can take her! That way, when she's done, we can go on an adventure!"

Hiro grabbed Yuki's hand, despite her hesitation, and ran off towards the restroom before Nanako could protest.

 _I hope they don't get in trouble._

"What's with this guy? Is he taking the refreshing innocence line? We ended the refreshment contest earlier in the chapter, you know."

Nanako stared at Hikaru.

"Okay, what's up?" She asked, pressing her palms into the counter and leaning forwards towards his face. "You're being really critical and rude for no reason today." Hikaru leaned away from her with a grimace.

"I'm just saying," He raised his voice just loud enough so Haruhi and her friend could hear him clearly, "that guy is obviously interested in Haruhi. It's plain as day and it's sickening."

"Stop it, Hikaru! You're the one being unpleasant here!" Haruhi pushed herself up from her seat and glared at the redhead.

"No, it's okay. I did have a thing for you, Fujioka. Then again, I've already been turned down by you."

Shock flew across the faces of the Host Club, including Haruhi.

Arai explained that his intentions must not have been clear enough for Haruhi because she didn't seem to acknowledge it at all at the time.

"Oh my," Nanako scratched the back of her head. She could say she knew Haruhi well enough to know that the reason she didn't acknowledge it was because she didn't realize that's what he meant.

Haruhi was intelligent, but not when it came to her own feelings or people's feelings towards her.

* _sluuuurp*_

A vein popped out on her forehead.

"If you don't cut it out, I'm going to hit you."

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

 _*smack!*_

It was Haruhi who ended up hitting Hikaru, not Nanako.

"That's not up for you to decide, Hikaru! If you do one more rude thing to my friend, you'll answer to me!"

No one knew what to say.

"What is this? What do other people matter?" Hikaru pushed himself up from his seat. " _We're_ your friends, are we or aren't we?"

It took a second, but Hikaru quickly ran off with Kaoru trailing right behind him, begging him to slow down.

"I'm… gonna go figure out where Hiro and Yuki are." Nanako excused herself and trotted off towards the restrooms.

It took some searching, but she found them in the kitchen surrounded by chunks of bread.

"What is going on." Nanako had no idea what was going on.

"We got hungry." They said in unison.

It was probably the strangest thing she had walked in on in a while.

She shooed them out of the kitchen and went outside just in time to hear Kaoru ask Haruhi on a date.

All day tomorrow.

Kaoru.

And Haruhi.

It looked like Hikaru, but Nanako knew that voice.

She pursed her lips. Genuinely confused, she hoped there was some other meaning behind it. She was confident enough in herself _and_ in their relationship to know that this wasn't serious.

She took a deep breath and walked back inside.

She wasn't going to let self-doubt win.

After aimlessly walking around for about ten minutes, she found herself standing in front of the guest bedroom door with her fingertips gently grazing the doorknob. Her subconscious somehow brought her to the conclusion that she should talk with Hikaru about what happened that day.

She didn't know what she was going to say, but the least she could do was try to see what happened to cause the attitude and the outburst, right?

 _*knock, knock*_

"Go away, Kaoru."

"It's not Kaoru." She answered back. "Can I come in?"

"No."

"Hikaru," She sighed.

"I don't want to talk to anyone. Go away."

"I don't care if you don't want to talk. We need to talk about what happened today."

"No, we don't."

"Hikaru, I'm just trying to help," She tried.

She didn't get a response.

"I'm coming in,"

She pushed opened the door slowly and slipped inside only to have a pillow hit her in the face. It dropped to the floor with a fluffy _plop_ and she stared at her assailant.

"I never said you could come in."

"You never said I couldn't."

Hikaru covered himself up to his nose with the sheets and moved as far away from her as possible. She took a seat on the edge of the bed and then proceeded to lift one leg up to face him.

"Okay, let's start by asking how you're feeling." She cleared her throat and dropped her hands between her thighs.

"I don't want to talk about my feelings with you."

"Well I'm not going to leave until you do, so if you want me out of here quick, you're going to have to get rid of your attitude and put up with me being a therapist." Nanako stared at him sternly, hoping he could feel her gaze on the back of his head.

He didn't say anything for a few minutes, so Nanako sat in complete silence until he muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said betrayed!"

"There's no need to shout at me."

He muttered an apology and shifted onto his stomach, still not sparing her a glance.

"And why do you feel betrayed?" Nanako brought her other leg up and crossed her ankles. She leaned back on her hands and dropped her head to her shoulder.

"Because," He paused and let out a haughty sigh, "Haruhi is our friend. We're here because of her. We thought she was in danger and she's just working and spending time with her old middle school friends instead of us. He's not even her friend—he's just a classmate! We spend more time with her than he probably ever has."

Nanako waited to see if he was done talking before speaking. "Haruhi is allowed to have other friends, you know. She's not _just_ your friend, or strictly friends with the Host Club. Just because she doesn't talk to someone after middle school does not mean they're not—or weren't—friends. They could be too busy, plus, I don't think Haruhi had a cell phone he could contact her with, right? You and Kaoru were the ones who got her the cell phone."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean—"

"I'm not done talking, you will speak when I am done."

Hikaru pursed his lips.

"What you are feeling is completely valid, but it doesn't mean you should have such a nasty attitude. You were rude to Haruhi's friend, and you were rude to Haruhi, too. What you did wasn't right, and you need to understand that. Kaoru went and apologized to her friend for you, but it's _your_ responsibility to make it up to Haruhi." Nanako exhaled. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

He glanced at her and then turned back towards the wall.

"Hikaru,"

"I heard you."

She eyed him, patted his leg, and then got up to leave.

"If you need to talk about anything, I'm always here. We're friends, so I'd like to help whenever you need it." She pulled open the door and left without another word.

Hearing the door close, Hikaru turned his head around to look at it.

"Friends…" He scoffed at the thought initially, but after a few moments of thinking, he concluded that they were _kind of_ friends. Nanako was all right, but he wouldn't be talking to her about his feelings ever.

It wasn't like she needed to know about him.

They would always be surface friends, anyway.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Let's go on a date today."

"What?"

Yuki and Hiro ran between the two.

"Let's go on a-,"

"I heard you the first time." Nanako held up her hand. "I thought you were going on a date with Haruhi?"

Kaoru grinned deviously. "That was a trick. I pretended I was sick and made Hikaru be Haruhi's date for today."

Nanako's mouth opened in awe. "You sneaky devil!" She lightly hit Kaoru's arm and laughed. "I was actually going to ask you on a date while we were here, but so much has happened that I haven't gotten around to it yet…" She scratched the back of her head and avoided Hiro running behind her. "I'm glad you asked, though. I'd love to!"

"Great." Kaoru smiled lovingly at her. "Although it might not be just us…"

Nanako blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well…"

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Haruhi!"

"Sir, they'll see us!"

"Why should I let Haruhi and Hikaru go on a date?! After what happened yesterday, how did it turn out like this?!"

"This could be Haru-chan's first date, huh?"

"AHH!"

Nanako gripped the fabric of her dress tightly as she stared down into the tea she had ordered a good fifteen minutes ago. It had most likely gone cold and she wasn't that interested in drinking it anymore.

The 'date' was more like a group outing, and the chances of them enjoying their one-on-one date were very slim. She didn't know how long they were going to trail the two, but she had a feeling it would go on for a little too long.

She was thankful Misuzu was putting Yuki and Hiro to work (to their excitement, surprisingly), otherwise, this spy mission could've turned into one giant bust.

When the date finally began to move, they left the café and stayed a good distance behind. Nanako, despite feeling annoyed, held onto Kaoru's hand tightly and kept herself practically glued into his side. It made her feel a little better, but not by much.

"I think it would be very good for Hikaru to have more people who are dear to him. For a long time, the only people who were dear to us were ourselves. We felt like it didn't matter what anyone else thought of us, and that's how we got the self-centered disposition." Kaoru explained.

"And you realized it?"

"Hikaru is especially childish, so he charges into things on just emotion. Still, although Hikaru doesn't seem to be aware of it, he's become quite fond of Haruhi. He just doesn't know how to act except to force his own feelings onto others, so he becomes monopolizing, like a child." Kaoru paused, thinking back to when Hikaru had his outburst the previous day. "Even when he wants to be acknowledged by someone, he doesn't know what to do. If you want to have true friends and not just toys, you have to respect the other person, don't you?"

Nanako let her eyes slide up to Kaoru's face. He had moments like this often, but she had to wonder if anyone really saw them as much as she did.

"I think Hikaru needs to learn exactly how to get along with people in that way." Kaoru flashed her a gentle smile, and she couldn't help but smile back.

Despite telling the host club that the date was a trial and that they shouldn't interfere, Nanako felt herself wanting to facepalm every time the more active members (mostly Tamaki) did just that. Although, after a while, the two seemed to be getting along and seemed to be enjoying their time.

"Let's head back. If we're sloppy and get found out, it will all be for nothing."

Nanako clenched her purse. She had only briefly looked into the shop window as she was turning, but there was one item that caught her eye.

"Hm? What is it?"

She slid her hand out of Kaoru's and smiled. "I'll just be a moment. You guys can go ahead."

"Are you sure?"

Nodding, she pushed open the shop door and headed for the item. She was sure Kaoru would like it, and even though they didn't go on a proper date, they still had a few moments throughout the day.

She would say it was a good date, despite the circumstances. Overall, she was just happy to hold his hand for so long.

"Thank you, come again!" Nanako smiled at the clerk and rushed out of the store to catch up with the others. She slipped the bag into her inner pocket and made sure it was zipped shut so Kaoru wouldn't notice it.

When she got close enough, she slowed down and pulled his arm into her chest. "Hey, did you miss me?" She grinned childishly and kissed his cheek.

"I always do," He chuckled and curved his arm around her waist to keep her close. She curled her arm around his waist and hooked her fingers into a belt loop so she could relax.

Yes, this was the best not-date-date ever.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Sometime after they got back, a nasty storm rolled in. Yuki and Hiro had their faces pressed against the glass as they watched the rain pour down.

"I take it you two like the rain?" She asked curiously, looking at them over the top of her book.

"Yes!" They looked back at her with starry eyes.

"Rain is the best thing in the world next to snow!" Yuki smiled contently.

"Plus, when it rains there are puddles, and puddles are made to be splashed in!" Hiro threw and excited fist in the air causing Yuki to giggle. "There's a divot just outside of our house that always fills with rain water, and Yuki and I _always_ get to play in it."

Nanako smiled.

"It sounds like a lot of fun."

"It is!"

Nanako placed her finger on the side of the page to turn it, but just as she was about to, Tamaki yelled and frightened her just enough to give herself a paper cut.

She hissed and put the book down.

"You stupid idiot! You turn right back around and find Haruhi!"

 _They're still not back yet…_

The thought didn't even occur to Nanako until that moment. She had been so distracted that she didn't even notice.

"What kind of person leaves a girl out in the rain like this by herself?! Listen to me, Haruhi is terrified of thunder! When she hears it, she gets so scared she can't move! Before you start indulging your overgrown jealousy, think harder about what the other person is going through!"

Tamaki snapped his phone shut angrily.

The only thing they could do at that point was hope that Hikaru would find her and bring her back.

Nanako looked down at her bleeding finger. She had been injured more times in the past three days than she had been in the past two months. She was beginning to wonder if some higher power was making this happen or if she just had really bad luck.

She pushed open the door to the bedroom and shuffled towards her backpack lying flat on the bed. She made sure not to rub the drops of blood on anything as she took out the small box of bandages and wrapped one around her finger.

"Hey," Two knocks alerted her that someone was entering the room. "Another bandage? How do you keep injuring yourself?"

Nanako rolled her eyes. "I don't know, to be honest. I'm starting to think I made some higher power angry." When she had it all wrapped up, she held up her index finger and wiggled it. "See? All better now."

She could tell Kaoru was worried.

"Come here," She dropped her backpack onto the floor and scooted back on the bed just enough so she could put her legs under her. Kaoru shuffled over and sat down in front of her. "They're going to be fine. I know it's not the best situation, but everything works out in the end. They'll find each other." She ran her hands through his hair and gave him a small smile.

He made eye contact with her for several seconds before wrapping his arms around her waist and knocking her back on the bed. He rested his head on her chest and listened to her erratic heartbeat. She was nervous, of course, and when he looked at her face again, her face practically matched her lips. Her mouth was open ever so slightly and one hand was gripping the top of her shirt.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to go on a real date today." He placed his hands next to her shoulders and looked down at her face. "I know I said we were, but I got so sidetracked with watching them that…"

"I-it's okay..." She murmured, her eyes flickering around for a split second before coming right back to his eyes. "I'm just…" She turned her head to the side. "I'm glad I got to hold your hand for so long…" She was quiet, but he heard her clearly. He took her injured hand and brought it to his lips.

"W-what…"

 _*kiss*_

As he pressed his lips to her bandage, her face turned red. He kissed her knuckles, then the top of her hand, and then the inside of her wrist before ghosting his way up her arm.

She made a cute whimpering sound as he got to her cheek.

"K-Kaoru," She curled her hand over her mouth and looked away.

He backed away from her and smiled. "You know I love you, right?" Her blue eyes slid over to his. "I'm so thankful every day that I get to see you and be around you because, even though you might not see it, I've changed, little by little, because of you. And Haruhi, too, but mostly you." He watched the corner of her mouth twitch up. "When you asked me for help putting on your costume the first time, I didn't expect anything much. Then we practiced dancing and you… you were interested in me, as a person—a singular person. You don't know how happy that made me."

She moved her hand slowly and raised it to cup his cheek. "You are so much more than one-half of a pair. You're smart and wise, and selfless, and not to mention handsome," He rolled his eyes playfully at her statement, "And I want you to know that I think about you more than I should. I didn't think we'd come this far, but we have and I'm so grateful that you're in my life. We've had some rough patches during childhood and even now, but we came together and made our own garden… and I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful." She swallowed hard and coughed. "I promise these aren't fake tears."

"You're so cute."

He pressed his lips to hers, barely breathing. Even though they had kissed before, this one felt much different. It felt new and exciting and full of raw emotion.

She hooked her arm around his neck, and, to Kaoru's surprise, rolled over on top of him. She pulled away and dabbed at her tears. "How dare you do that to me when I'm crying. I look like a mess." His hands found their way to her waist and he relished in the extra body weight she had on her hips. He sat up and pressed a delicate kiss to her collarbone.

"You're not a mess. You're beautiful."

Nanako grabbed his chin. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're trying to sweet talk me into doing something."

He grinned. "Well, this is probably the only time we're going to get alone while we're here." His hand snaked around and slid into her back pockets.

"I thought you were worried about Hikaru?"

"I thought you said they were going to be fine?"

"Oh, you're playing that game?" She scoffed with a playful smile. "If you're going to be mischievous, then I get to be, too." She shifted her weight forward and then back just enough for him to look at her with a spark in his eyes. "And to think you haven't even asked me to officially be your girlfriend. Tsk tsk!"

"I was planning to today, but the date didn't officially happen."

"So why not do it now?"

Kaoru hummed. "Because it's not how I envisioned it."

"And?" Nanako giggled. "I'm not asking for a huge show. I just want you and me to be together officially." She placed her hands on his cheeks. "So how about it? Are you going to accept? Are you going to officially become my boyfriend?"

"Do you think I would say no?"

"Ah!"

She landed on her back. Kaoru loomed over her with a devilish grin.

"You sneaky little—mmph!"

Kaoru locked the door behind him for a reason.

* * *

 **It's up to you to determine what they did. Maybe they just made out, maybe they did other stuff, but I'm not leaning one way or another.**

 **All this fluff…ah! I love it, and I hope you guys like the fluff, too!**

 **AND THEY'RE OFFICIAL.**

 **Pure romance and good relationships are all I want in life.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I appreciate your support and words!**


	22. Bonus: Their World, Expanding

**I have to thank a reviewer (** OntheRun246 **) for bringing this up because I didn't even think about the dynamic between Nanako, Kaoru, and Hikaru after they officially started dating.**

 **This chapter is short, I know, but it's a small bonus chapter to tide you over until Friday. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter 21.5: Their World, Expanding

* * *

Nanako ran her fingers through her hair a few times and then let her hand fall into her lap. Her body was still buzzing from such close contact with Kaoru—a feeling she would never get used to.

Kaoru had physically calmed down, but his heart was still beating rapidly. If he squinted, he could see the tiny scratches he accidentally left on her waist, but she adjusted her shirt so they were no longer visible.

"Do you think Hikaru is going to be mad at me?"

Her eyes looked extremely dark in the low light of the lamp.

It didn't even cross his mind at the time. He was focused on her and he completely forgot about what Hikaru would say. Hikaru had grumblings every now and then about them being too close, but he never said anything specific.

Perhaps that was a bad thing.

Hikaru ran his mouth when he was upset, but there were times where he didn't say anything—especially if he knew Kaoru would be upset by it. They shared a lot with each other—they were twins after all—but sometimes they neglected to talk about the obvious.

The obvious being his progressing relationship with Nanako.

"I just feel like… What if he thinks I'm stealing you from him? You two have always been close and I would hate to disrupt the relationship between you two…" She looked down and played with the end of her shirt. "You two are opening up at different paces, and maybe that's my fault…but I want him to understand that the relationships he has aren't exclusively for him."

"Like yesterday," Kaoru said.

She nodded. "Like yesterday. I tried to explain that it's not _just_ his relationship and that people are allowed to have other friends—in our case friends who happen to be dating—but I don't know if I got through to him."

Kaoru thought about directly bringing it up with Hikaru, but he didn't know what kind of outcome would occur. What if he really was upset and acted childishly? What if he began to dislike Nanako?

What if…their relationship as brothers turned sour? What would they do without each other?

But, they couldn't have been with each other forever. They would eventually have to go their separate ways. They would always be close, but not together… and that hurt to think about.

Kaoru wanted to move on from where they were—being twins who spent all of their time together to twins who were close and lived their lives separately—because that's how it's supposed to be. That's how life is.

Kaoru wanted to be with Nanako, but he wanted to be with Hikaru, too. He didn't want to ruin either relationship.

There was so much room for personal growth with Nanako, but there was familiarity with Hikaru. Kaoru wanted personal growth— _needed_ it—and so did Hikaru. They were growing as people, just at different paces, as Nanako had previously stated.

Haruhi resided in _their_ world, a driving factor that has begun to change them for the better.

Nanako only resided in _his_ world. He'd already learned so much from her, and he wanted to learn more.

He couldn't allow Hikaru to deter him from that opportunity.

"Hikaru… yes, he's childish, but I know deep down he understands that this is something we need. He's already realized that we're becoming new people. We've always wanted to be seen as separate people… So, I think he'll be okay with it. He has to be."

Nanako stopped fidgeting and nodded in agreement.

"I'm okay with it."

The couple's eyes flew towards the opened door. Hikaru stood in the doorway, still damp from the rain.

"And I don't think you're stealing him from me…not that much, anyway." His eyes slid over to Nanako's quickly before returning to his brother's. "I get it, okay? You're moving ahead of me… and I would be angry if I wasn't moving either…but I don't feel like I'm standing still."

"So… you're okay with us dating?" Nanako asked, hoping and praying that he was for sure okay with the situation.

"I'm not going to oppose it because that'll hurt Kaoru. And I care about him too much to intentionally hurt him like that."

"Hikaru…"

Nanako watched the two embrace for a moment in complete silence.

"You should shower… if you stay wet, you're going to catch a cold." She commented, jerking her thumb towards the bathroom.

"Thanks, mom," Hikaru said, flashing her a mischievous grin.

"I'm not your mom!" Nanako blushed in embarrassment and stomped her foot.

"Even though you say that I'm not convinced. You came to check up on me yesterday, you're looking after kids… I'd say that's pretty mom-esque." Hikaru teased, wiggling his fingers in her direction.

"I'd have to agree. You're very mom-esque." Copying his twin's gesture, Kaoru grinned at the girl.

"Kaoru! Not you too!"

The twins began to pester her for being too mom-ish and all Nanako could do was deny and complain that they couldn't be trusted together.

* * *

 **Updating regularly on Tuesdays and Fridays.**


	23. How to Deal with the Summer Heat

**This chapter is going to be a look into the lives of some of the extra characters I've created and briefly mentioned in this story thus far. I figured why not give them some more screen time since I went through the trouble of naming them and giving them personalities, you know? Some are short, some are long, but all in all, enjoy! (Oh, and if you don't care about them, stick around until the end of this chapter to see NanakoKaoru fluff)**

* * *

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Twenty-Two: How to Deal with the Summer Heat

* * *

/-/-/ **Meiji** \\-\\-\

* * *

" _Throughout the day, the temperature is expected to rise. There's not a cloud in the sky, so if you are going outside today, make sure to wear sunblock!"_

Meiji turned her attention to the driver of the car.

Her second oldest brother's dark eyes flickered to her expressionless face through the mirror before adjusting back onto the road.

"Turn up here," Her eldest brother's deep voice reverberated through her chest.

Her body shifted to the left as the car quickly turned right. They had picked her up at eight-thirty that morning and had driven her to Shinjuku to help with the day's debt collections. Normally they wouldn't involve her at all in what they did, but today was an exception.

The clients they had today were normally handled by the only female on their team, but because she was currently vacationing in Okinawa, she wouldn't be getting the money anytime soon, and that bothered the brothers.

The only woman they knew who would help them without question (or with the least amount of questions) was Meiji—their apathetic sister.

Parking the car, Meiji and her eldest brother walked up to the second floor to knock on the door of their first client. A greasy middle aged man answered the door and eyed Meiji for several seconds before spotting her beefy brother.

"Hey, we're here to get the money you owe us." Meiji held out her hand expectantly. "If you don't pay it now I'm going to break your legs."

Her brother facepalmed.

The client handed her a series of bills and she shook his hand without blinking. The man would've been lying if he said she didn't freak him out.

The rest of their day continued like that. Her apathetic nature did wonders on the various clients, but maybe it was the fear instilled in them from her giant brother that made them give up their money so easily.

By the end of the day, the three of them sat on a bench eating ice cream.

"Remember when you two tried to drown me in the pool?" She asked nonchalantly.

They nodded casually.

"I'm starting to wonder if that's what made you so emotionless."

* * *

/-/-/ **Volleyball Club** \\-\\-\

* * *

"I hope everyone brought their own water today?"

The club collectively agreed.

"We might play a game or two outside today, but because it's so hot, we might have to limit practice indoors. I don't want anyone getting dehydrated."

Even though the gym was air conditioned, it didn't help the fact that Arisa's bangs clung to her damp forehead. She usually wore a headband, but she took her favorite one out to wash and never returned it to her bag. Arisa turned over her checklist and mulled it over.

They had been practicing for the last week and a half of the summer vacation so they could get a good head start on the season.

"Remember to inform me if you have any injuries or you don't feel well. If you need medical treatment, there is a nurse on duty. Don't brush anything off, okay? Your health comes first."

"Arisa-senpai!"

"Yes, Mio?"

"How are we choosing teams today?"

"We're having everyone draw sticks. At the bottom, there will either be orange or blue, so whichever color you get is the team you're on." Shizue gripped a handful of popsicle sticks. "Arisa and I decided this would be the best way to choose teams because we've been seeing some discrepancies when we allow you to choose your own teams."

"It's nothing personal, we just want everyone to have a good practice. Plus, it allows you to work with people you normally don't, and you never know, you might learn something!" Arisa pinched her shirt and pulled it away from her body, sending a semi-cool breeze up through the collar.

There were thirteen members in the premier volleyball club, meaning someone would be sitting out for the first game. One by one, the members chose their respective sticks and floated to the area with their teammates. Mio chose last, pulling out a stick with a black tip.

"Oh, you got the odd one. You're not going to be playing the first game today, Mio," Shizue explained, handing one of the last two sticks to Arisa and looking at her own to see that they were on the same team.

"Looks like we can finally play a game without someone hogging the ball," One girl commented, raising a manicured hand to her mouth and earning a series of snickers from her friends.

"I don't hog the ball," Mio retorted, squeezing her popsicle stick tightly.

" _Sure_ you don't." The girl rolled her eyes and swept her bangs out of her face.

"Okay, why don't we knock it off and get started," Arisa stepped in between the two and clapped her hands. "Orange is on the right, blue on the left."

There were a couple of giggles on the way over to the net. Arisa turned and looked at Mio. "I wouldn't pay her any mind if I were you."

Mio looked up at her senpai and then at the girl. "I'm going to try not to."

The match lasted well over an hour. Mio sat patiently off to the side and watched the ball soar and speed over the net, ghosting movements with her fingers and calling out names in her mind. Above everyone, she was watching Arisa play. Because they had normally been on the same team, she never had the time to sit down and watch her, but now that she did, she couldn't take her eyes off her.

There was a sense of grace despite her laser-focused facial expression. Mio never noticed it before, but Arisa often clenched and unclenched her jaw, causing her temple to rise and fall with every movement. She didn't seem to notice herself doing it, though. Perhaps it kept her calm.

Arisa took three quick steps forward and jumped up to spike the ball, sending it rocketing towards the ground. The girl closest to the net lunged forwards and extended her arms, but she was at an angle, and that sent the ball whirring in Mio's direction.

She didn't even have time to move out of the way before the ball slammed roughly into her forehead, sending her head back into the wall and causing her to black out.

"Oh my god!" Arisa rushed over to Mio's limp body and cradled her head in her hands. "Mio? Are you okay?" Shizue jogged up to the club president and knelt beside her.

"We should probably take her to the nurse,"

Mio blinked unevenly a few times before her vision focused on Arisa. "That hurt…" She winced, raising her hand to the back of her head.

"Shizue and I are going to help you to the nurse, okay?" With a little help, they got Mio upright and standing, although it was clear her head wasn't okay with the way it lulled from side to side.

The girl from earlier didn't bother to stifle her laughter. "That was a show! She's probably not even hurt that bad, she just wants attention." A few of the girl's friends from both sides began talking under their breath.

"What a showboat."

"It's about time she shut up."

"It's karma for all the times she hogged the ball."

"Too loud."

Mio barely breathed. She couldn't if she tried. Her throat was closing and she felt like crying. Her head throbbed painfully and all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and hide.

"I said knock it off!" Arisa yelled, turning towards the girls.

"Arisa, come on, you can't be serious!" The girl scoffed. "All she does is hog the ball and talk too much. How can you stand someone who calls you senpai so much? It's almost like she wants you to notice her."

"I'm sorry, have you ever tried getting to know her?" Arisa retorted snottily.

The girl furrowed her brows. "N-no, but I don't want to. I don't need a friend that annoying!"

"Just shut up."

Arisa, who was normally easy to get along with, suddenly looked cold and uninviting.

"What makes you think you can say such hurtful things so easily? Clubs are supposed to be like family, and you're causing unease within it. I know this isn't the first time, either. You've been doing it for a while, and now suddenly you have the courage to speak up? Are you dense?" Arisa walked over to the girl and looked down at her. "I don't tolerate bullies."

"I'm not-?!"

"You're already halfway there. Think again before speaking so freely." Arisa returned to Mio's side. "Don't think about ever coming back, either. You're banned from the club."

"WHAT?!" The girl yelled. "You are kidding me!"

"Let this serve as a lesson to the rest of her followers. If you dare bully anyone on the team—even so much as talk bad about them behind their back and _I_ find out… Well, you won't be coming back either."

The girl clicked her tongue. "Whatever. I hated this club anyway." She stomped over to her bag, angrily threw it over her shoulder, and stormed out of the gym, yelling a few unkind words out as she did so.

Ten minutes later, Arisa found herself sitting on a stool just beside Mio's bed.

"The nurse said you'll be fine, but…" She sighed and held her head in her hands. "I'm sorry I didn't do anything sooner. You told me things weren't going too well, and I brushed it off in hopes it was going to go away." She clicked her tongue. "That was stupid of me, wasn't it?"

Personally, she liked the girl's drive, but knowing she did such shady things when Arisa wasn't around was frustrating.

And she let Mio be bullied because she didn't do anything to stop it? She'd have to do a serious reevaluation of the members at the end of the day.

"It wasn't stupid," Mio winced as she sat up. Placing her dainty hand on Arisa's arm, she smiled. "You were just being optimistic. I wanted that, too." She let her hand fall to her lap. "I thought I was overthinking it, but when you told me not to worry the first time, it really helped me let it go… but then it kept happening, and I tried really hard not to let it get to me, but today was just…" Laughing awkwardly, she scratched her cheek, "Today wasn't that good. She's never really said anything like that before."

"Mio,"

The younger girl locked eyes with Arisa.

"If anyone ever says anything bad about you again, send them my way. I'm not going to let anyone bully people I like."

Mio's face heated up.

"L-like?"

She didn't think she meant it like _that,_ right? She meant she liked her as a person and as a friend and nothing else, right? Or did she actually mean as an interest? Did she like girls? Thinking about it, Arisa never seemed to talk about guys outside of the host club, but she only went there every once in a while. But she _had_ mentioned the girl, Nanako, in passing, and Nanako _was_ pretty—but she was also interested in Hikaru, or was it Kaoru? She could never tell them apart. At the same time, she never thought of herself as liking girls, but if she really thought about it, she _did_ think girls were more interesting than guys—smarter, too (at least the one's she's met). Boys can be so dense and girls are…

Mio made a mental note to do some researching when she got home.

Arisa, on the other hand, was completely red. She knew what she meant, but she ended up saying something that could be taken in several different ways.

"I mean… I mean, like, you're…" Arisa couldn't figure out how to word it, her mind was completely blank. What could she say?

They looked away from each other shyly.

"Shouldn't you get back to practice?" Mio murmured, peeking at her senpai to see her staring at the wall in panic.

"I told Shizue to lead practice for the rest of the day."

"Oh."

"Yeah…"

The two sat in silence for a while, but after the awkward period had passed, they began to talk casually and even shared a few laughs here and there.

If Mio were honest, getting injured was probably the best thing that had happened to her in a while. She got closer to her senpai, which was nice in several vastly different ways.

Arisa, while conflicted, found herself wondering if this was a start to getting past her current crush.

…Who knew, maybe they could end up being more than friends one day. For now, however, she was content being someone who stood by her.

Everyone needs someone in their corner, right?

* * *

/-/-/ **Mei** \\-\\-\

* * *

She was the only one in the house at the time. Her parents were working, her younger brother was off enjoying his extra week of summer vacation, Nanako was off on a date, and Izumi was several hours away in a tiny town helping his grandmother farm…or something like that.

She didn't actually know what his family did—well, she _did_ , but her memory was horrible when it came to things like that.

Essentially, she was by herself, which meant she had nothing else to do other than reading or play through Left 2 Die 4 again (which she really didn't want to do).

A loud _bing_ from her computer alerted her she had an email. She hopped off her bed and made her way over to see she had a message from her internet friend.

' _Hey, Mei-chan~!_

 _I'm finally made it to Tokyo! I'm really excited to see what Japan has to offer. I still have the list of phrases you gave me, so if I get into too much trouble, I'm going to use it!_

 _I hope I won't though!_

 _Do you live in Tokyo? Do you think you could show me around? I'd love to meet you!_

 _Awaiting your reply,_

 _Lily-chan"_

There was one large emoji at the end that caused Mei to crack a smile.

She replied, saying she'd love to meet up and that it would be a little hot (which was a major understatement) throughout the day.

Lily replied almost immediately, which was good because Mei was informed where Lily was and asked her driver to drop her off at the internet café she listed in the email.

Mei thought she knew what Lily looked like, but when she entered the café and a girl waved to her excitedly, she stood stark still.

She looked _nothing_ like what she did in the photo she had sent a little over five months ago. People did change over time, sure, _but not_ _ **this**_ _much!_

"I can't believe it! You're even prettier in person!" Lily bounced up to her with a bright smile. It was clear she was foreign—aside from her appearance, she began speaking in rushed English.

Mei knew how to speak it, but Lily was talking so fast she could barely keep up. Her attention was focused on the blonde's larger than life breasts and curvy physique. She looked like a character straight out of a dating simulator, if Mei were being honest.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Lily held her hands in front of her chest, making her breasts appear even larger. "I got excited so I forgot I must speak Japanese." Lily tried her best, but her spoken Japanese was still a little rocky.

Mei's eyes locked onto Lily's blue ones. "It's okay. You can speak English, but not as fast." Mei replied in English, trying her best to make herself understandable despite her accent.

Lily nodded. "Okay. I'll slow down."

They had coffee and made their way out into the city to explore. Despite the language issue, they still managed to have a pretty good time.

It was a great way to spend her final day of summer vacation.

* * *

/-/-/ **Izumi** \\-\\-\

* * *

"Izumi, would you mind helping your grandmother in the kitchen?"

His mother scooped out a chunk of soil and moved it off to the side so she could place a flower inside the hole.

"Are you sure you don't need help?"

His mother shook her head, her straight brown hair shifting from its braid and falling off her shoulder. "I'll be fine. Plus, I'm sure she'd love to spend some quality time with her only grandson."

Izumi set the basket of flowers he was holding down and stalked off into the small traditional house. He slid open the door, kicked off his shoes, and padded over to the kitchen.

"Granny, I'm here to help…Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes, yes, of course I am. Why would you ask?"

"Granny… You're lying on the floor."

"Indeed I am."

Izumi stared at the giggling woman on the ground.

"Do…Do you need help up?"

"That would be lovely, Izumi."

It took a minute to hoist her up off the ground, but once she was up, she stood still and held her hands behind her back with a content smile on her face. "If you would deal, could you begin cutting up vegetables? I'll tell you what to do, so you don't have to worry about burning the house down."

"I'm not gonna burn the house down!" He yelled with a red face. "It was a small fire _one_ time, and that was because the string on the apron got too close to the burner."

His grandmother laughed at the memory.

"You were in such a panic. It was so cute."

Izumi blushed in embarrassment and wrapped an apron around his waist before taking to the vegetables. Aside from getting instruction, his grandmother began talking about him as a child despite his protests. At some point during one of her memories, Izumi looked up and noticed there was a girl leaning over the railing and speaking to his mother from the garden.

"Oh, Hana-chan~!" Izumi's grandmother shuffled over to the door and waved at the girl.

Her bright eyes were wide with joy and she cheerfully greeted the woman with a smile. "If I would've known you wanted a garden, you could've called me! I love gardening!"

There were a few exchanged words, but Izumi couldn't look away from her face. The knife in his hand was stuck halfway through the potato and didn't dare move.

"Izumi, come say hello," Izumi let go of the knife, wiped his hands off of on the apron and rushed over to the doorway. By this time, the girl was standing just off to the side of his mother with her hands clasped in front of her.

And, man, was she beautiful.

Long brown hair, light blue eyes, pink lips, one small brown beauty mark next to her right eye, white sundress with a purple ribbon tied around her waist, and a sunhat—she was refreshing.

You didn't see girls like this at Roku.

Her smile was blinding. He knew his face was red, but he tried his best not to think about it.

"Aren't you handsome? My name is Hana." She stuck out her hand, which he took eagerly.

"Thank you. You're very beautiful." Did he normally reply so boldly? "My name is Izumi."

They shook and let go slowly.

There were a few more exchanges before she waved and headed off towards the bus stop.

"Love at first sight is a beautiful thing, isn't it?"

"Granny!" Izumi cried, whipping around only to see her giggling behind her hands.

It took a while to get his grandmother to stop teasing him, and by that time he wasn't the one cooking anymore. His grandmother had taken over and allowed him to sit outside on the porch with a glass of ice water. He crossed his ankles and kicked them back and forth lazily.

He was glad that he wasn't in the city because it would've been at least ten degrees hotter with all the glass buildings. His mother had begun drinking her third can of beer in the living room, and every now and then, he could hear her snort or laugh loudly at whatever her and his grandmother were talking about.

Closing his eyes, he breathed in the country air.

"Hey,"

He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice.

Hana giggled. Izumi clutched his shirt and stared at her in shock. "Do you even make noise when you walk, because I definitely didn't hear it!" He complained.

She hummed. "Sometimes, but I'm a pretty stealthy walker." She placed the bag of groceries on the porch and leaned in close. "You know, you're cute when you're scared." She tapped his nose with her index finger. "Then again, you're pretty cute in general."

His mind reeled for a response. Normally when he talked to girls they were flustered and never as bold as her.

"You're really bold." He stated and immediately regretted saying it when her smile faded. He wanted to hit himself for saying it without thinking.

She hoisted herself up onto the porch and leaned back on her hands. "That's what I've been told." She kicked her legs just slightly faster than his. "It doesn't bother me, though. It's better to be direct than to beat around the bush."

He could agree with that.

"Besides, why wouldn't I make it known that I'm attracted to someone? I'm not some blushing schoolgirl." She looked at him. "Your grandmother talks about you sometimes, but the only pictures she showed me were of you as a kid. I didn't expect you to look so handsome."

Izumi scratched the back of his head. "Thank you, again."

"No problem." She smiled, launching them into silence. "Do you want to exchange numbers? I'd love to get to know you."

"S-sure,"

She pulled out a red cellphone with a star charm attached to the back. "That's cute," He commented as he handed her his cellphone and took hers.

"Thank you."

They swapped cell phones and she hopped up from the porch. "It was nice meeting you, but I have to get home. I bought ice cream for my younger brothers and it's probably melted by now." She took the plastic bag, kissed her fingertips, and tapped them on his cheek before running off.

Izumi's hand rested against his cheek.

"Dinner is ready," His grandmother called from inside. He stood, grabbed the glass of water, and headed inside to eat with his family.

Halfway through another story about his childhood, Izumi received a text.

' _From: Hana ^u^_

 _The ice cream wasn't melted, but I have to cook dinner tonight… I can't cook ;;_

 _I hope your dinner was nice. Your grandmother makes delicious meals.'_

He smiled.

Several blocks away, Hana brought a pot of water to a boil and stared at the ingredients she brought home with her. The only thing she knew how to make was Miso, but even then, it turned out bad over half the time.

"If it turns out gross, I'm not eating." Her thirteen-year-old brother warned.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

Her phone pinged and she flipped it open.

' _From: Izumi ^^_

 _If you need help, I'd be willing to make a trip over to your house. I can cook pretty well, despite what Granny might say_

 _I wouldn't want you to start a house fire. Be careful, all right?'_

She bit her bottom lip and held the phone close to her heart.

"THE POT IS OVERFLOWING, IDIOT!" Her brother cried, dashing over to turn down the burner so the water wouldn't splash out everywhere. "Do I have to do everything in this house?!" He grumbled, pulling a step stool from beside the fridge and setting up a workstation.

She wandered away from the kitchen with a dreamy smile.

"Thank you, Kei-chan,"

"Whatever, idiot." He tied the apron around his body and began pouring in the broth mix.

How was it that he always ended up making dinner?

* * *

/-/-/ **Marise Sando** \\-\\-\

* * *

There were perks that came with being famous.

For example, she managed to woo a prosperous business man with her ' _charms_ ' and get him to pay for a hotel, buy her clothing, and at the end of it all, get her a first-class plane ticket back to Korea.

She didn't really have a place to go because her parents weren't happy with her (not like she cared anymore) so she contacted her most recent fling (who was her last coworker) and had been staying with him for the past several weeks while she "got back on her feet."

Really, she was just going to charm her way into money again and her life would be fine and dandy without Keiichi in her life.

She never really loved him anyway. If he had known how many people she saw on the side, he would've ended it a long time ago—even before they were married.

It wasn't like she missed much about that name—she didn't change her own for that reason. She had done so much to leave them alone, to get out, to get _caught_ but Keiichi was such an idiot that he never noticed.

Hell, she's the one who caused the tear in Nanako's ACL several years ago.

Marise sat up, the arm that was draped over her torso sliding down into her lap. Her perfect skin glistened in the moonlight as she approached the window in nothing but her underwear. She grabbed the pack of cigarettes off the table and snatched the silk robe from the chair. She tied it loosely around herself before stepping out onto the balcony and leaning over the railing to stare down at the streets.

She tapped the pack against her hand a few times before pulling one from the box and lighting it up. She took a drag and exhaled before shaking her head.

"Eighteen years of my life… wasted." She murmured. Was it worth it? No.

Even though some aspects of her life—like a loving husband (ex-husband) and a child—were good things to others, she could've gone without them. She never really found herself to be a committed person. The only thing she felt committed to was her job and taking care of her physique because without her looks she was practically nothing.

If she was thankful for anything in her life, she was thankful for the material things as well as her ability to charm her way into a new job. She already had a new one, a small series that was scheduled to start within the week. It was medium pay, but it was better than nothing.

After all, she had someone supporting her financially, so she wouldn't have to worry too much.

Well, until he figured out she was sleeping with another person, but until then, she was fine.

She took another drag and flicked the back end with her thumb.

At the end of the day, it was just herself, her talent, and her charm… and that was satisfying enough for her.

"You know that's not good for your skin." She turned her head towards the doorway.

"I was stressed…" She turned around and snuffed out the cig. "But now that you're up, I have another option to relieve myself." She seductively swayed over and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Even though the last month and a half had produced major changes, nothing had changed for her, and she was confident nothing ever would.

* * *

/-/-/ **Nanako and Kaoru** \\-\\-\

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Nanako? It is your first time."

"I'm fine."

"I'm just worried you'll have a bad experience and never want to do this with me again."

"Kaoru, I'm going to have a good experience…just hold my hand really tightly, okay?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I'm going to start moving now."

"I'm ready."

Nanako closed her eyes tightly. Kaoru's hands firmly held her hips as he guided her down. "You're all the way down. You can open your eyes."

She opened one eye and felt her skin prickle. Her mouth gaped open.

"Why did we think going into Fear Castle was a good idea?!" She rushed behind Kaoru and hid her face in his shirt.

Kaoru laughed and squeezed her hand. "You said you wanted to try it, so I had no reason to complain."

"But… why does the first area have to deal with spiders?" If there was anything she was afraid of, it was all insects—but spiders terrified her. She peeked at the black door again.

 _Arachnid's Tunnel_ was painted on the door.

"I'm going to be right here. I promise I'm not going to let any spiders hurt you."

Nanako glanced up the stairway, the sunlight of the day barely pouring in from the small square window on the entrance door. "Okay… But if anything even so much as _breathes_ on me, I'm going to scream and run."

"And leave me?"

"Only if you can't keep up."

Kaoru pulled the handle and stepped in with Nanako clutching the back of his shirt. It was extremely dark inside, the only light being the black light footprints on the ground showing them where to go. As far as they could see, there was nothing.

It took a few seconds, but the walls began blowing cold air on them, causing the hairs on Nanako's neck to stand up.

"Kaoru…"

"It's okay." He reassured, gripping the hand that had clumsily thrown itself out at his.

It might've seemed like air to them, but in reality, the breeze was blowing 'cobwebs' that touched Nanako's skin every few seconds making her flinch and rub her arms off on her clothes multiple times. A few creepy crawly noises began looping alongside the dripping of water.

Something scuttled across Nanako's sandal and she shrieked, letting go of Kaoru's hand and moving to the wall, but as soon as she touched it she felt multiple small things move around.

"I can't do this!"

"Nanako,"

"I can't move. I'm too scared." Something touched her toes and she shuffled away. "Kaoru!" She desperately reached her hand forward, hoping she didn't move too far away, but she only grasped at the air. Her feet didn't want to listen to her.

"Nana, I'm here." Something brushed against her fingertips at the same time something dropped from the ceiling onto her shoulder. She yelped and threw herself forward, thankfully into Kaoru who hugged her tightly.

"Take me out of this room," She begged tears in her eyes and her throat so tight that her voice sounded like she was being strangled.

"Okay," Kaoru locked his arms around her waist, lifted her up off the ground, and followed the footprints out of Arachnids Tunnel.

The remaining rooms in Fear Castle weren't as horrible as the first room was for Nanako. It seemed like the only fear that worked on them was the first one.

It was quite anticlimactic.

About ten minutes later, they found themselves standing inside of a souvenir shop to avoid the mid-day summer heat.

"I can't believe you didn't get scared in there." Nanako picked up a stuffed cat and examined it before tossing it back in the basket.

"It's because my fears are ideas and not concrete things." Kaoru placed a squid hat on Nanako's head.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked curiously.

"Insecurities, mostly." Kaoru pulled the hat down over her eyes.

"Hey!"

She wiggled the hat away from her eyes, and as soon as she could see again—albeit blurry—she heard a fake camera shutter.

"Did you just take a picture of me?"

"I had to capture this moment."

"You're an idiot."

* * *

Kaoru's fingers gently ran through Nanako's hair as her head rested on his shoulder. They had made it back to her home and had practically collapsed from heat exhaustion.

They were lying on her bed with her desk fan blowing directly on them. Nanako had passed out ten minutes ago and even though he wanted to succumb to sleep, he didn't want to overstay his welcome. Not to mention if he fell asleep now, he wouldn't wake up until much later, if at all.

Her arm was draped loosely over his torso and her fingers twitched occasionally just before she readjusted her head.

Resting his cheek on the top of her head, he moved his hand so the strands of her honey brown hair would slip through his fingers. They had been dating for a little over three weeks, and if he were to be honest, nothing felt any different. There was an official title, but their relationship still felt the same as it was before. He was happy because if anything had changed just from the title, he would've been a little weary.

He'd liked to say he knew her fairly well, but there were still bits and pieces he had yet to learn. He still didn't know the entire situation with her parents, he knew small chunks of her childhood (told by her as well as her father), he knew some of her talents and aspirations, he knew a vast array of her favorite things… but there was still something he knew she wasn't talking about.

There were a few times since he'd become interested her where she would get so lost in a thought that a despairing look would overtake her features. Her brows would knit together, her eyes would dull, and she'd sit still enough that if you looked at her, you could call her a human-sized doll.

He didn't know what brought on that look, but when he asked her about it, she never gave a direct answer. In time, he felt she would tell him, however, it was getting harder to ignore it when he thought about it so often.

He was worried. She was holding something in and wasn't letting it go, and that could cause tremendous amounts of damage eventually.

Sometimes he'd brush it aside as her thinking too hard, or something related to her parents, but even though she was happy and entertained today, he still saw it on their ride to her home.

It didn't last very long, but there was something different for that period of time.

She told him that she was tired.

Kaoru closed his eyes and exhaled.

"How long are you going to hold that secret in, Nana?"

Several hours later, Nanako found herself alone. There was a note pinned to her board from Kaoru indicating his departure from her home.

She showered, brushed her teeth, combed through her hair, and slid underneath the covers.

Staring at the alarm clock, she felt herself fading into unconsciousness.

 _Just wait a little longer...I promise I'll…_

* * *

 **NOTE: This chapter was used in place of Kyoya's Reluctant Day Out.**

* * *

 **I loved writing this chapter. There's nothing quite like taking a look into other people's lives, you know?**

 **I'm finally on summer break and have set a specific schedule for this story (Tuesdays and Fridays) so expect bi-weekly updates! I'm not on hiatus anymore, thankfully, and when this story ends (I'm expecting by the end of May it will end) I plan to work on/post another story! I don't think it's going to be in this category, but if it is, I will welcome you all back warmly!**

 **I'm leaning towards a purposefully horribly written cliche-filled Mary-Sue harboring cringing ever five lines kind of story... Does that sound interesting to you guys? It would definitely pose a challenge for me... then again, I can pull inspiration from my 14 year old self who thought I was the most original and interesting writer on here when I wrote my other two stories (I couldn't even read through 16 chapters of my _own_ work, so if that doesn't tell you how bad I was back then...).**

 **Trust me, I've improved. A lot.**

 **Additionally, I'm going to be changing my PenName after this story is over. So... don't forget about me, okay?**

 **I'm currently writing Cassanova's episodes and then it'll be the Ouran Fair/ending! Oh my goodness, I might cry!**

 **Thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, reviewed, and managed to make it this far. I appreciate you all from the bottom of my heart! I'm very proud of my work and I hope you are all enjoying it as much as I do.**

 **I'll see you all Tuesday!**


	24. Rivalries!

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Twenty-Three: Rivalries!

* * *

Nanako tilted her head and looked over the presentation of food she had put together. The sandwiches were all placed the same way and the teapot was placed at an angle where the spout pointed towards the center of the cart.

Even with it all in place, she felt like something looked weird.

She closed her eyes for ten seconds and then looked at the cart.

"Oh, there it is." She adjusted one of the plates on the left side so it was matched with the other eight plates.

She checked the time and sighed. There was still a good chunk of time to spare before the club began their weekly meeting. "I guess I could sit down for a bit…" She murmured before wandering out into the main room.

Honey-senpai was face down on the floor, there was a middle schooler staring him down with a metal rod, Renge looked like a sports announcer, and the other members were just watching.

"What is going on?"

Her question was immediately answered as a screen dropped down from the ceiling to display what had happened.

There was a fight between Honey and the middle schooler.

Five minutes later, Nanako had poured tea for their guest as well as place a sandwich and slice of cake in front of their guest (who, upon closer inspection, was undoubtedly Honey's brother).

"The Haninozuka family is a noble one which has excelled at martial arts since ancient times, and has created its own style of martial arts by incorporating the combat skills from all others. And so, while the men…" Nanako found herself tuning out the last part from a lack of interest.

She had never been a fan of fighting and preferred to stay away from all forms of it. It would've been polite to continue listening, but even he didn't sound interested in talking about it. His tone hovered around 'I have to explain this to people who don't understand.'

He seemed to be the opposite of Honey, which was interesting, but that meant that the cake she placed in front of him would need to be removed.

She swiftly removed the cake and carried it over to Honey who took it with a smile.

"Let me just say, there is no way that I will recognize a halfwit like Mitskuni as the next head of the family."

Honey dejectedly looked down at his cake.

Nanako bit her lip.

With a few more harsh remarks to his brother, Yasuchika left the room.

Honey took twice as long to finish his first slice of cake and didn't even touch the one she brought over.

Nanako wasn't sure what to say that would comfort him.

Things like 'Your brother may put you down but keep your hopes up,' 'Sorry your brother won't accept you as the next head of the family because you like cake,' and 'Your brother doesn't know that you're actually a wonderful person, so don't let it get to you,' didn't seem like viable options to help cheer him up.

She sat down on a couch a short way away and began to eat her sandwich.

"Nanako," She looked at Tamaki with her mouth half full of food. "Was this the cake you gave to Chika?"

She was going to verbally respond, but after she tried to swallow too quickly, she began to cough. It took a moment, but she nodded vigorously towards the blonde and lurched for her cup of tea.

She gulped it down and patted her chest, trying her best to get her chest in order before continuing to eat.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

One brief backstory on Honey being in the Karate Club and not a single word about what was going to happen that week, the host club was suddenly on a mission to reconcile the two brothers.

Nanako looked at Kyoya who had taken a seat across from her. "I'm assuming we're going to have to come up with a theme for next week since we didn't get around to doing it in today's meeting, right?"

"That seems to be the case." He replied, wiping his mouth and placing the teacup gracefully on its saucer.

"I'll try to come up with an idea by Wednesday." She stood up and turned towards the other members. "Don't even _think_ of leaving until you've finished what I made for todays meeting." She growled, earning several scared looks from the active members.

"So scary!"

"She really lives up to her title, doesn't she?"

"Well _someone_ has to be the responsible one here!"

It took a bit of walking to get to the outside of the martial arts room, but when they got there, they watched Chika bark something or another at his club, sending them out of their minute-long break and into another round of training.

Nanako backed away from the window and brushed off her dress. The building had snagged a small area near her knee. "Shoot." Squatting down, she raised the pulled thread up to her teeth and bit it off. She didn't have scissors, and if she left it alone, who knows what it could snag on later.

"This is just a simple inferiority complex, huh?"

"He's always being compared to his brother, which raises a greater pattern of hatred than there's call for. His cuter, more popular older brother also has far greater ability than he does, and it has warped his personality…"

"It's so commonplace. Let's go find something else to amuse us."

"Hey, hold on! You two were so into this plan earlier! Why are you leaving it half finished?" Nanako threw out her arm to stop the twins from going any further.

"Nanako's right! What's with the uncooperative attitude?"

The twins turned towards Tamaki and raised their arms.

"We thought there would be a more interesting, hidden reason."

"What do you think Honey-senpai and Chika's feelings _are_?!" Tamaki began throwing his arms around haphazardly.

"Tama-chan, it's okay." Honey held Usa-chan tightly in his arms and didn't make direct eye contact with any of the members. "You know, I'm okay with Chika-chan hating me. As long as he grows up happy and healthy, I'll be fine."

"Are you really okay with that?" Nanako asked, tilting her head to the side to try and understand how you could be okay with a direct family member hating you. It would be different if they were cousins, but they lived in the same house… Wouldn't that be difficult?

Her mind brought her back to the thought of her mother, but the problem with that was that her mother didn't _hate_ her, she just didn't particularly care for her. Not to mention her mother was never home when they did live together…

Speaking of which, she hadn't seen her mother in almost six months…

 _I wonder how she is…_ Nanako couldn't help but wonder if her mother had ever returned from her 'adventure' to the west or even if she had money. The way things ended seemed cruel in retrospect, but it had to be done. She would've done a lot more damage had the ties not been severed (both to the family and their bank account).

"Could you keep it down?"

Chika had appeared, and immediately launched into fighting Honey again.

"This is not happening again." Nanako rubbed her temples.

"You alien!" Chika clenched his fits as he glared down his brother.

"Alien?"

"However much stronger his brother may be, there's no need to call him an alien." Haruhi complained, making Nanako nod her head in agreement.

"What's so wrong about cake and his stuffen animal Usa-chan?" Tamaki asked.

Chika suddenly looked unsettled instead of angry. "If it was just the cake and Usa-chan, I wouldn't say anything." He relaxed from his fighting stance, but still had his fists clenched. "I don't regard my brother as an alien because he's so strong." He suddenly pointed at Honey and began yelling, scaring Tamaki who was standing right next to him. "Don't the rest of you think anything of it?! Every night, he eats three whole cakes after supper, like it was nothing. You understand? I'm serious, three whole cakes!"

"Three…" Nanako could barely eat three slices without feeling sick! The mere thought of eating three whole cakes made her stomach churn. It didn't matter how good the cake was—she would never be able to eat three, especially after dinner!

"And then, just last week, I woke up in the middle of the night, and noticed that there was a light shining out of the dining room…" Chika explained that he had walked in on Honey's once-weekly 'special cake night' where there were seven huge cakes (some with multiple tiers and some just incredibly thick) laid out for him to eat with Usa-chan.

Nanako stared at her senior.

 _He's a cake monster…_

"Be honest, are you not terrified?! Do you think that any earthling like that could exist?! Using Usa-chan's electronic waves, he eats cake all night long! Honestly, don't you think he's an alien?!"

"For some reason…"

"…what the younger brother is saying…"

"…is starting to sound…"

"…one hundred percent accurate."

"Even so, in the past, we used to get along. He only had a little bit larger than average sweet tooth and was fond of cute things. For a time, Brother gave up all of those things. And then, someone gave him some advice he could've done without… Something about true strength being the acknowledgement of what one really likes."

Tamaki looked away from all the eyes that were suddenly on him.

How could he have known his words affected the senior so drastically?

"After that, he suddenly fell apart, and became the alien he is now."

Chika looked completely burned out.

"Tamaki-senpai,"

"Yes…Nanako?"

The look in her eyes shook Tamaki to the core.

"Before you go giving advice to others, I believe you need to think about if what you're going to say will have a consequence…Am I correct?"

"Yes ma'am."

The only way to settle the brothers' relationship was to fight it out. Somehow they all ended up on a hill watching them duke it out in the same way they had apparently fought before, but this time in reversed roles.

Even though Mori said Honey would throw the fight to let Chika win, Honey did not do that.

In fact, right after Mori stated what he _thought_ would happen, Honey kicked Chika in the head so hard that the younger brother went spiraling away through the air.

Honey proclaimed that, as a result of winning, he would have special cake night _three times a week._

Nanako wanted to throw up.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

When Sunday morning rolled around, Nanako got up and began baking a cake. She didn't have a reason other than feeling inspiration to try.

She settled on making pineapple upside down cake because, for whatever reason, there was a fresh pineapple in the fridge begging to be eaten. She sliced it up, placed eight slices in the pan, mixed the premade cake batter (there was no way she was going to make it by scratch), poured the batter over the pineapples, and put the whole shebang in the oven for twenty-eight minutes.

To her delight, the cake turned out like she envisioned. It looked perfect, if she were to be quite honest.

Just before she could stick the knife in to cut herself a piece, someone knocked on her door. A tiny voice in her head told her she shouldn't answer it, but before she could stop herself, her feet carried her to the door and she opened it up to—you guessed it—the host club.

She was still in pajamas.

About three minutes later, she stood near the couch and listened to the plan of the day.

"You're going to show up at Haruhi's, uninvited, and spend the day with her again? Shouldn't you, I don't know, _ask_ if she's available?"

"If we tell her we're coming over,"

"She probably won't answer the door."

Nanako nodded. "That's true…"

"But, if _you're_ with us, she won't refuse!" Tamaki beamed at the girl.

"That's also true." Nanako's eyes looked at the cake still sitting in the pan on the stovetop. "You guys are lucky I made cake. We can bring it as a gift!"

"A cake? What kind?" Honey bounced over to her with wide eyes.

"Pineapple upside down cake. It's best with whipped cream." She was about to smile, however, when Tamaki's arm found its way around her shoulders, all excitement left her face.

"Our dearest princess has made a cake! Not only will we get to eat something that Haruhi made, but we also get to dine on Nanako's desert! Men, this is a day worth remembering!"

"Please don't put your arm around me."

And so, Nanako found herself standing at the front of the group now in front of Haruhi's door with a plate of cake in her hands. Ranka, complete with early morning stubble and a just-rudely-awaken face answered the door.

"I'm sorry, we have the wrong apartment." The boys began to swiftly walk away.

"Uh," Nanako couldn't get herself to say anything more intelligent.

"Hey, hey wait a second!" Ranka rushed up in front of them and began to wheel them back towards the apartment.

"Don't act so traumatized because you've seen me without my makeup on. Even tranny's get stubble first thing in the morning, which is more than I can say for any of you, aside from Nanako."

"You're so funny!" Tamaki laughed and scratched the back of his head. "My dear Ranka," He turned and took the covered plate from Nanako's arms, allowing hers to rest by her side and shake off the ache it was beginning to cause. "I hope this day finds you in excellent health."

Ranka shot up, socked Tamaki in the chin, sent the plate flying in the air (giving Nanako a tremendous amount of anxiety throughout her entire body), caught the plate, and stepped on Tamaki's head hard enough to smash his face into the wooden floor.

"Ranka, please, that's my face!"

"Silly me, I forgot my manners! Please forgive my appearance. It's so wonderful to see you all again." Ranka popped open the lid and was immediately hit with a wave of delicious smelling cake. Nanako got a whiff of it too, and she felt her mouth beginning to salivate.

Oh, how she wanted a slice of that cake.

"Is Haru-chan here?"

Ranka removed one of the precut slices and began to eat it. "I'm afraid not. Haruhi went out with a few girlfriends today. They picked her up this morning, and you know women, heaven only knows when they'll be back."

If that wasn't the truth…

"So she's not home?" Honey asked, sadness written all over his face.

"Well, Haruhi is entitled to spend time with old friends from her middle school once in a while." Tamaki got out from under Ranka's foot and stood up to leave.

"I hope my cake is all right. I made it this morning and I wasn't able to try any before we left."

"It's delicious! You're free to have some, Nanako. It _is_ your cake, after all."

She immediately scarfed down two slices.

"Come to think of it, I didn't recognize any of her new friends. But, then again, you never can tell, can you? Haruhi's always made friends easily. Just think, my little girl… out and about with girls from Lobelia Academy."

Nanako, halfway in between reaching for another slice, was comically pushed aside so Tamaki could grab Ranka's shoulder.

"Did you say…"

"Lo—"

"—Bel—"

"—i—"

"Ahh?!"

"Okay, let's sit down and half a chat, shall we?" Nanako removed the plate from Ranka's hands and glided over to the living area. She flopped to the ground and continued to stuff her face full of cake.

After a short explanation, Nanako stared down at the empty plate with a dark expression.

How had she eaten an entire cake by herself? How had she not saved any for anyone else? Why had she almost bitten Honey's hand when he tried to grab a slice?

Her stomach was stuffed to the brim with cake, and she had honestly never felt more satisfied. She might throw up later if she was forced to do excessive physical activity—which she had a feeling she would have to—but right now, she her stomach was happy.

"Oh no! What if the Zuka Club entices Haruhi do something scandalous?"

Nanako ran her finger across the plate and picked up any spare crumbs she left behind.

"Just suppose, she is forced to kiss somebody!"

"Kiss?!" Tamaki's face turned red and a high pitch squeal poured out of his mouth.

"As I recall,"

"There was that dance party when…"

Tamaki tied the twins up to keep them from talking.

"Just what exactly goes on in that club of yours, Suoh?"

"Why, nothing a loving father wouldn't approve of!"

They stared each other down for a solid ten seconds, leaning in closer and closer, and suddenly Tamaki stood up, sending Ranka flying to the floor.

"We must rescue Haruhi without delay!"

The only thing they left behind was the empty cake plate.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

 _Ring. Ring. Ring. Ri—click_

" _Hello?"_

"Mei, it's Nanako. I have a question."

" _I might have an answer._ "

"Didn't you mention you'd be at Lobelia today for dance?"

Mei groaned through the speaker. " _Unfortunately, yes I am. Do you want to know what I'm dancing for?"_

"Even if I said no you'd tell me anyway."

" _The Senõrita's. A production put together by the Zuka Club._ _ **The Zuka Club, Nanako.**_ _I'm trying to earn extra credit by being in this stupid play but all I've done is get hit on by Benio, gotten death threats by her fans, and been asked to return to the Zuka Club. I'm so_ tired _of this, Nanako._ "

"I'm sorry about that Mei… but let me ask you another question: is Haruhi there?"

Mei made a noise. " _I haven't seen her… but some of the freaks—I mean fans did mention something about a replacement girl…one of the lead girls got hit by a car and is in the hospital right now, so we needed someone else… I'm not sure it's Haruhi, but I'm willing to bet money that it is now that you're asking._ "

"Okay… one last question, do you think you can help us get into Lobelia?"

"… _What do you mean by 'we'?_ "

"Well…"

Mei stood in front of the group wearing a puffy purple jacket over a black leotard. Her long black hair was somehow pulled up into an impossibly small bun that sat neatly on the top of her head.

"I can't bring a bunch of guys into the studio." She said flatly.

"Is there any way to get them inside?"

Mei grinned. "Well, there is one way…"

* * *

Nanako held onto Mei's hands as she began to warm up.

"I can't believe you actually got them into the Benibara Fanclub."

Mei lifted her right leg up behind her. "It's the only thing no one will question them about…as long as they don't mess it up." Mei lifted her left leg into the air. "I would've sent you, too, but I really just wanted someone to help me. That, and I didn't want to be caught alone by Benio." Mei stood normally and took a large breath.

Nanako watched Mei dance in silence. There were a few moments where she did the same part over multiple times, but she did manage to run through the routines fully several times.

"I'm not in every scene, but I'm in several larger numbers. And all I wanted was extra credit." Mei sucked down half of her water bottle. "I can't believe I'm back to square one."

Nanako hummed in disagreement. "Well, I wouldn't say you're back to square one. I mean, yeah, you're working with the Zuka Club, but you're not _in_ the club. You're providing your services to them… maybe they should pay you," Nanako said, laughing lightly.

Mei spun on her heels slowly. "Remember how I said I was only in the club for a week?" She stopped spinning and looked at herself in the mirror. If she looked to her left, she could see Nanako staring at her.

"Yes…"

"I wasn't there for just a week… I was there for a month. Give or take. It was all right at first, but then they started showing their real colors, and I couldn't stand to be around them. I told my mom about it, and she told me to stick it out until the end of the month, then I could switch to dance. I did make it until the end of the month but… let's just say they like to get touchy-feely when they're trying to convince you to stay."

Nanako pursed her lips, looking away.

"I'm sure Haruhi will be fine." Mei reassured, although she didn't know if it was completely true.

Mei guided Nanako to the balcony just after call time and left with a brief smile and an exchange of luck. Nanako observed the set and looked around below to see the host club members hanging around below.

She opened her mouth to call out to them, however, at that exact moment, the doors opened and a giant flood of teenage girls poured into the theater—correction, teenage Benibara fans.

It was obnoxiously loud now, and she didn't really want to draw unwanted attention to herself, so she adjusted the seat she brought with her and rested her arms on the railing.

It didn't take long for the show to start, but when the lights came up on Haruhi, Nanako paled.

Haruhi's makeup was so… _concentrated_ that it didn't really flatter her at all. Then again, she _was_ on stage, and Izumi had always mentioned that stage makeup and regular makeup are on two opposite ends of the spectrum.

While regular makeup was done to make you look pretty, stage makeup had to be heavy so it could be seen with all the lights.

 _I'm so sorry, Haruhi._

Not only was the makeup heavy, but the dress looked heavy, too. It must've been hot on stage.

Nanako smiled every time Mei was on stage, and she clapped softly when she finished her number. She really _was_ good, and the way she danced made nostalgia blossom in the pit of Nanako's stomach. There were aspects of dance that she liked, but not everything. If her mother hadn't pushed so hard, perhaps she'd be dancing the way she preferred.

"Oh my Lord Frederick!"

Nanako blinked.

 _That's not Haruhi, right?_

"Oh my Lord Frederick!"

 _It_ _ **is**_ _Haruhi…_

Nanako placed her chin on the railing and closed her eyes. "You can put a little more feeling into it, can't you?"

Several minutes passed in the darkness before three spotlights shined on the area below her—directly on the host club members. She shielded her eyes from the light and cursed. "Of course this would happen."

A pillar, similar to one Renge usually uses, rose from the ground, taking Benio and Haruhi up with it just after Tamaki failed to get to Haruhi.

Haruhi really put up a struggle trying to keep the tall woman from kissing her, and unbeknownst to her, the backdrop screen scrolled down and up came a picture Nanako never thought she'd see again.

"That's from the party!" She gasped.

Haruhi dodged Benio and rushed to the edge of the pillar. Below her, Tamaki held his arms out to catch her.

She jumped.

And knocked him to the ground.

Nanako palm smacked against her forehead.

"Why can't we have a decent day for once?"

* * *

 **Two episodes in one? Crazy! It's mostly because these two episodes are kind of… lackluster? They're more like side-quests on the main mission. In any case, we saw a little more screen time from Mei… Wow, only a few more chapters… I'm kind of sad!**

 **I'll see you guys next chapter!**


	25. Be Careful What You Wish For

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Twenty-Four: Be Careful What You Wish For

* * *

Late one night, Kaoru found himself looking at the pictures on Nanako's wall. He had looked at them plenty of times before, but something seemed different about them now.

He glanced towards the door and listened. She was still in the bathroom, using the sink to brush her teeth. Her toothbrush was blue and orange. She used spearmint mouthwash because it 'wasn't as cold' as peppermint.

He turned his eyes back towards the photos.

There were two new photos.

The first photo was a younger Nanako, maybe about ten, sitting in a light blue leotard and tutu with her legs apart in a seemingly perfect split. She had a huge smile on her face and if you looked close enough, you could see that her left canine was missing.

The second photo was middle school Nanako—complete with the brown uniform—standing next to Izumi—who was wearing a public school uniform—and Mei—who was wearing the Lobelia uniform.

 _I didn't know Mei was a grade ahead…_

"I used to be thinner when I was little—when I danced, I mean." Nanako had changed into different clothes, purple shorts with a white tank top that was thin enough to where he could tell she was still hot from earlier. "I'm not complaining, if that's what you're thinking. I'm just making an observation." She tapped her tummy, making several hollow sounds echo in her body. "I've come to love how I look."

Her cheeks were tinted pink. Her smile was slight but present.

"All of these pictures… Were they…"

"Taken by my dad? Yes." She reached her fingers out and touched her dancer photo. "He wasn't there often, but he was there when it was important… more often than not."

The smile in the photo of her being silly was the same smile she showed him. There was a feeling tagged to it.

"When we get a photo together, I'm going to put it in a frame all by itself and put it where I can always see it." Her hands glided up his bare chest and slid behind his neck.

"I'm surprised you haven't printed one yet. Your dad takes so many when he sees us off."

She giggled. "I'll have to ask him…" She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his jaw. "I want one that's not forced by him, though. And _not_ in this apartment. When we go on a date next, we should ask someone to take our picture." She kissed the corner of his mouth.

"That's a great idea."

She made a noise in agreement and puckered her lips. He pecked her on the lips and held her close.

His eyes stared at the Nanako from middle school.

Something about her from then seemed familiar.

* * *

 **2 Years Ago**

* * *

"What's her name again? Haruko? Satsuko? Tsukiko?"

"I think it's Nanako… but does anyone even know her? Really?"

"Does she even do anything besides sit and read?"

"Ballet. I have the same instructor. All she does is talk about how talented she is. How annoying."

"My parents talk about the family sometimes. Her mom is that actress, Marise Sando?"

"No, no, my mom said Marise is her stepmom."

"Really? I guess they don't look anything alike, huh?"

A chair scratched against the ground and the gossiping girls hushed. They watched the girl glide out of the room, her honey brown hair gently floating up as she passed through the door and took a sharp right.

The girl was different then.

Purple nails scraped against the cover of the book and blue eyes steadily stared forward unfocused. She passed a few people who gave her a second quick glance, but otherwise she went unnoticed as she slipped through the halls and headed up towards the roof.

The door creaked open and she was immediately hit with a wave of cool air. Stepping through the doorway, she turned to place her book upright to keep the door from locking her out. Her legs carried her to the edge and she looked down over the angled roof to observe the courtyard.

There weren't many people out there, thankfully, so the chances of her getting caught were slim.

Her hands held the back of her skirt to her legs as she lowered herself to the warm floor. She readjusted herself so she was comfortable.

She took a series of deep breaths, staring up at the clear sky with disinterest. Every day she grew closer to the edge, but she wouldn't fall—at least not yet. There was always something that stopped her; the nice weather, the wind, something was always there to keep her balanced.

There were times she teetered, but she never fell.

At least not yet.

Her head tilted down and she stared at the fountain. Two identical individuals were sitting together reading what looked like a magazine, although she couldn't really tell because of how far away she was.

The Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru. She knew of them, but didn't know them. Like her, they kept to themselves and never spoke to anyone.

Did they have friends? Probably not. Then again, she never directly observed them to know.

In that way, they were similar, but apart from that, they were vastly different.

From what she'd overheard, they pull cruel tricks on girls who give them love letters, but it wasn't like she was interested or cared for that matter.

She wasn't one to make judgements based on other people's experience.

Blinking, she focused on a blonde who had suddenly appeared and began speaking to them. Disinterested, she raised her gaze up towards the sky and watched as a cloud slowly made its way over to cover the sun.

Her only source of warmth disappeared for several long seconds before returning. She rubbed her exposed skin, trying her best to warm it up.

She spent the duration of fifth period study hall there. When the bell rang, she stood on the edge, looked down, sighed, and returned to her classroom to grab her lab book.

She hated anatomy.

* * *

They never noticed her.

The only ones who mattered were them and no one else.

They never needed to know her until they were forced to.

When they were inconveniently paired with her for a history project, they hardly spoke.

She sat in front of them in a desk she had turned around with her hands clasped around the edges of a book that was clearly used one too many times.

She looked disinterested. They looked annoyed.

The two of them discussed what they should do for their presentation aspect of the project. They decided on a poster, without so much as even bothering to ask her what she wanted.

It wasn't like it mattered.

When class ended, they went their separate ways.

The following day, however, their sensei informed them that it was a joint effort between the three of them.

"Projects are the perfect time to get to know someone better. You three surely have something in common, right?" A practiced smile appeared on the woman's face. "Why don't you try involving Morikawa in your decisions. It's her project as well." A hand rested on the girl's shoulder, causing her eyes to fly up to theirs.

Her eyes clearly said no.

"Okay, sensei." They agreed, and the woman sauntered away towards one of the more talkative groups.

They stared at each other in silence for a full minute before she spoke up.

"If you two collect the facts, I can put together the poster." She offered.

"Deal." They said in unison.

Her eyes unfocused and lowered back down to her book. It was different this time.

"Weren't you reading a different book yesterday?" Hikaru asked curiously. He wasn't all that interested, but if they didn't continue to talk, their sensei would return and most likely reprimand them for not doing what she had asked.

"I finished it last night." She stated blandly, turning the page.

"How? You were at the beginning and there were at least three hundred pages." Kaoru asked in a tone that borderlined accusatory rather than curious.

"I read fast." Her voice was quiet.

They looked around to see their teacher at the back of the room helping a different group.

"Do you even have friends?" Hikaru was blunt.

"Do you?" She retorted, her eyes shooting up to look at them. They stared at each other, again, in silence. "That's probably the only thing we have in common. We don't have friends here."

Something flickered in her eyes. They both noticed it.

If it had been any other emotion, they wouldn't have noticed it, but they had spent so much time around each other to know what that looks like in someone's eyes.

Loneliness.

They knew better than anyone that the look came with territory, and because they didn't know her, they thought she needed space.

So they let her be.

* * *

"She's not here today, either."

They had finished researching during fifth period study hall. They had written all the information they needed down across several sheets of paper and their partner was nowhere to be found.

This was the third day in a row she's been absent. Their presentation was in four days and they hadn't even started putting together the poster—rather _she_ hadn't begun putting the poster together.

She needed to be at school for them to pass on the information.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, can you spare a moment?" Their history teacher smoothed out her skirt as she approached them. "I just found out that Morikawa had to have surgery yesterday. The earliest she'll be back in class is Tuesday."

"What?" Kaoru muttered.

"But our presentation is Monday." Hikaru pointed out, his brows furrowed in annoyance.

"I'm going to move your group presentation to Wednesday, is that okay? All three of you need to present your project."

"Can't you excuse her?" They asked.

"I'd love to… but she needs this presentation grade."

The twins looked at each other.

"Wednesday is fine."

The woman smiled apologetically and began class.

"What are we going to do?"

"What _can_ we do?"

They looked towards her empty desk.

"We need to get her phone number."

"How? She doesn't have any friends."

"There might be something in her desk. Like in an agenda or something—in case it gets lost."

"Do people even fill those things in?"

"She seems like she might."

They waited until class was over before wandering over to her desk and rummaging through her things.

"Isn't this the book she was reading?" Hikaru held up a white book with a bookmark stuck near the end of it.

Kaoru racked his memory as he stared at the book. "Yeah."

Hikaru opened it up. "If lost, please call…" He pulled the sticky note from the book and showed it to his twin. "Here it is."

They texted the phone number right before seventh period and received an answer just after eighth ended.

After school, they found themselves standing outside of her hospital room. Her name was printed neatly on the board that hung neatly in the middle of the door.

They opened the door together and walked in. She was sitting upright in her bed with one bandaged leg over the covers and the other stuck underneath. A fluffy white cardigan draped over her arms.

She didn't look at them immediately, instead focusing on the television in the corner of the room. There was a child's anime on, but it didn't look like she was all that interested in it. Her gaze turned towards them and they stood next to the bed staring silently at each other.

"Did you bring the notebook?" Her voice was curt.

Hikaru handed her the item in question. She opened it up and briefly looked over the notes. "Is the presentation still on Monday? Because I can get it to you before then."

"Actually, she switched it to Wednesday. Sensei said you needed the presentation grade." Kaoru stated, watching her close the notebook and set it on the bedside table.

"I guess." She exhaled through her nose loudly. "I can start making the poster later. I asked my driver to pick up a big one while I'm stuck here for the night."

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. On crutches."

It was then the twins noticed the lack of sympathy in the room. "Don't people usually get gifts when they get surgery?"

She picked at the skin around her nails. "Probably, but I didn't." She scoffed. "Really shows who cares, right?" She pulled a piece of lose skin off and winced. The area began to bleed, so she stuck it in her mouth. "You don't have to hang around with me, you know. Go home or something."

 _Don't leave me by myself._

Amber eyes met aquamarine ones.

"You're right."

"We'll see you Tuesday."

Hikaru turned around first, but Kaoru stood for a second longer. A large part of him wanted to leave, but another part wondered if he should stay. Something looked different, but he wasn't sure what.

Quickly, he dug her book out of his bag and handed it to her. She took it without a word

If she wanted them to stay, she should've asked. However, since she didn't, he turned his back and followed his brother out of the room.

She opened her mouth slightly, her voice caught in her throat.

The door clicked closed and she was alone again. She turned off the television, slid her book under her pillow, and nestled herself under the blankets, staring up at the ceiling with furrowed brows.

She felt tears crawl down the sides of her face and slide into her hair. She so desperately needed human interaction, but she couldn't bring herself to ask for help. Why did she tell them to leave? Why didn't she stop them from leaving? Sure, they weren't all that friendly yet, but she could've made an excuse for them to stay.

To help with the project, to brainstorm ideas, _anything_ would have worked.

But she didn't say anything.

Perhaps she was destined to be alone.

* * *

"And that's all you need to know about the Meiji Era."

Their classmates clapped and their teacher smiled.

Nanako carried herself back to her seat and rested her crutches against the window just after she sat down.

The twins took their respective seats.

They never spoke to each other again. Two years would go by before anything changed, their project long since forgotten.

She would seem like a different person, not quite as reserved as she used to be. She would still feel lonely.

They would be friendlier, noticeably different people. They would still feel lonely.

She would look for a place to study, coincidentally running into a scholarship student, and following him to the third music room that they thought was unused. She would meet the host club, a vase would break, and she would become their maid.

They would remember her, but they didn't _know_ her.

She wouldn't remember them.

She would have to wear a costume. She would call out to Kaoru, the only one left in the back room.

He would help her change.

The two of them would practice ballroom dancing, sharing a conversation that was far from small talk. She would be interested in him as a person, not as the addition to Hikaru.

He would appreciate that.

She would get to try on dresses made by his mother. She would learn a little about his childhood.

He would learn that she looked best in purple.

Their relationship began when Kaoru fought with Hikaru. Kaoru and Nanako would spend large amounts of time with each other, sharing conversations and laughs and notes for math. They would learn their favorites, cook dinner, and eventually find themselves on the terrace where they would stare at the night sky.

On that night, they would kiss for the first time.

They would kiss for the second time at the water resort, where Nanako almost drowned.

They would go on three dates. They would begin dating.

The loneliness they felt would become a distant memory… and the rest was history.

* * *

"Do you remember that history project you, me, and Hikaru had to do in middle school?" He adjusted his shirt and glanced over at Nanako who was sitting cross-legged on her bed with a book in her hands.

She pursed her lips. "I can't say I do. I don't remember much from middle school, or anytime, really. I have a horrible memory." She laughed.

"It's okay if you don't. I was just curious." He looked towards the middle school Nanako again. "You were much different back then."

She scratched her knee.

"You're a completely different person now, but so are Hikaru and me."

"That's because I…" She trailed off and bit her lip. "I am a different person." She admitted, knowing full well he wouldn't understand the true meaning behind her words.

Kaoru nodded. "I can tell." He gave her a hug, kissed her forehead, and left with a wave.

Nanako stared at the door solemnly.

There wasn't much time left, according to Nova, and Nanako didn't feel right about never telling Kaoru what was going on. She would have to tell him soon.

She was sure there would be a proper time, and when it happened, she would tell him.

She promised herself she would.

…No.

Catapulting herself up from her bed, she dashed through her bedroom door, down the hallway, and prayed to god that the elevator hadn't taken him yet.

 _Screw waiting! If I don't do it now, there may never be a chance!_

"Kaoru!" The elevator was already going down. She cursed, but before she could run towards the stairs, she spotted the familiar orange shirt by the door.

Kaoru was sitting on the floor staring up at her with wide eyes. She stared back, slightly out of breath, and then proceeded to walk up to him. She plopped down onto the floor in front of him and scooted herself into the space between his legs.

"I haven't been completely honest with you, Kaoru." She murmured, reaching out to mess with the necklace she had given him. "I was going to wait for the right time, but I don't know if that was going to happen… and I didn't want to keep hiding this from you because you deserve to know what's going on."

"I'm all ears." He replied, running his thumb over the back of her hand.

She took a deep breath… and began to recount everything she thought he should know.

"You know me as Nanako Morikawa, but that's not really who I am. It's going to be difficult to understand, trust me, but I just need you to hear me out and try your best to believe in some of it." She peeled a small piece of skin from her lip. "On the outside, yes, I'm Nanako. On the inside, I'm a girl named Alexae Jones from America who made a wish for things in my home life to be different. This isn't my home. I don't belong to this world, in all honesty, and that's not me being sad, it's the truth. I'm not _from_ here.

"There's this system—a wishing system—that allows people to have their wishes granted by goddesses, and I happened to be chosen for my wish to be granted… well, _I_ wasn't chosen, it was actually someone else named Alex Jones who I am not, and that was the accident that brought me to the 'Ouran-verse'. I quite literally body-snatched some innocent girl thanks to my Wisher—Nova—and I can't leave this 'verse' until 'this' is over," Nanako waved her arms around, hoping to signify that _this_ meant the world, "Nova's been watching over me since the day Haruhi and I showed up at the host club and broke the vase.

"I've been trying to just live this life day by day, but I never realized how hard it is to do that. There are so many things Alexae doesn't know that Nanako does, and while I'm thankful for that, I'm still not sure if what I'm doing is the right thing. I never expected to meet such a fun group of people, and I wasn't expecting to fall in love with someone as nice and selfless as you." Her throat began to burn and she could barely breathe. "I wasn't expecting to live a life so vastly different than my real one, and I don't want to leave this place when it's all over… but I don't know _when_ it will be, and that scares me because that means everything I've come to love in this world—the food, the people, my father, _you_ —it will all be ripped away from me and I don't get a say in if I want to stay. This feels like a dream, and I don't want to wake up from it, but that's just how the wishing system works. No one stays. You return to your own world and you suffer knowing you'll never get a chance like this again.

"I don't want to leave you, Kaoru. You are everything to me and I'm so sorry I've hidden this from you. I know I probably sound crazy, but it's _true_ and I don't know what to do!" Fat tears were billowing down her face as sobs ripped through the compact hallway.

Now that she'd said everything aloud, the crushing reality of it all finally weighed her down.

Her grip was so tight on his hand his skin began to turn white.

It sounded absurd, but something deep down told him that it was true. Thinking back on the Nanako he met in middle school and the Nanako he was reintroduced to—it was obvious they were two different people. There was no doubt in his mind that she would lie about it, and she wasn't crazy—he knew her better than to believe that.

He wrapped his arm around her trembling body and raked his fingers through her hair. "I believe you. It sounds insane, but I know you well enough to know you wouldn't lie to me." Technically she wasn't lying to him, she was withholding information, which he could understand why she was doing it. There was no way anyone would have taken her seriously if she had said that from the day they all met.

He felt like he had met someone like that before.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know if I could tell you." She wailed.

"I'm glad you finally did. I know it must've been hard not telling me, and that's okay. I didn't want to force it out of you." He pulled away from her and used his thumbs to wipe her tears away. "From now on, how about we settle for no secrets?" She nodded once and wiped her cheek.

"Okay… can I have another hug?"

He chuckled. "Of course." She got as close as she could and wrapped her arms around his midsection, burying her face into his shoulder.

They stayed like that for a while, just sitting in silence and soaked up each other's company.

Kaoru spent that time thinking about what she had said, and every time his mind rolled back to the thought of their relationship ending, he found himself hugging her tighter or readjusting himself so he could take in more of her essence.

To think that one day Nanako—or was it Alexae?—would be taken away from him… He couldn't bear to think about it. They had gone through so much, learned so much, experienced so much together that thinking about being apart from her was utterly heartbreaking.

What would happen when she—Alexae, he realized—was gone? Would Nanako revert back to her old self—the one who didn't care for friendships or trying to make them? Would she keep to herself in the back of the classroom like she had at the beginning of the year? Would he be left to remember everything and live with those memories alone?

It was then that he found himself crying, too.

If he was going to be selfish, then it would be for her. She was the only thing he wanted. They had grown from each other. He didn't want to lose her. He didn't want to stop seeing her. He didn't want her to wake up one day and forget who he was.

He wanted her, and there were no if's, and's or but's about it.

If they had never gotten to know each other, if they had never danced, if she had never asked for his help and freaked out thinking that she had addressed him by the wrong name, his world wouldn't have expanded.

It would have been him and Hikaru, alone. Maybe Haruhi would still be there and things would be different, but it wouldn't be the same without Nanako— _Alexae_ , he corrected himself.

Alexae…

The world wouldn't be as bright if she wasn't in it.

Kaoru blinked away his tears and saw someone standing not that far away.

A dark-skinned woman with blue hair and silver eyes staring them down. She didn't look menacing, rather protective and perhaps a little perturbed. She sighed and approached them, crouching down to tap Alexae on the shoulder.

The girl went limp in his arms.

"There's not much time left." The woman stated blatantly.

"Nova..." He breathed out, unsure if this was the 'goddess' Alexae had spoken of.

"Correct."

"Was this… She doesn't love me for the sake of…"

"The plot? No. This wasn't intended, but it seems like someone higher up wanted it to." Nova looked towards something.

"A god?"

She shook her head. "More like the writer of 'fate,' if you want to call it that." She sighed. "I really don't want to take her away, but you have to understand that I'm not the one responsible. I have guidelines I have to follow, and I'm not the one who decides what happens to you two."

"What happens when this ends?" He was almost afraid to ask.

She looked at him.

"Alexae will return to her world with all of her memories. This world, and subsequently _you_ , will return to a time before all of this happened. Nanako herself will still be in this world, but it will progress canonically—without interference from her. None of you will remember this Nanako ever existed in your club."

"That's unfair."

"You know what they say." She faded away with a forced smile. "Be careful what you wish for."

* * *

 **Originally, I was going to end it at about 2k words –just before Nanako decided to tell Kaoru everything—but I walked away from writing this for a few days and decided that I was done dragging this out. Kaoru deserved to know, even though it sounded crazy.**

 **He doesn't understand everything, but he gets the gist of it, which I think is pretty good, all things considering. I think he's shocked, more than anything, and he does have doubts about some things (like if she loved him because she wanted to or because it was supposed to happen in the plot), but having Nova confirm that she does love him for him is reassuring.**

 **He couldn't ask all the questions he wanted, but he got a few in.**

 **Also, Nova broke the 4** **th** **wall, did you catch that?**

 **Are you guys sad to see this end? It's been a pretty long journey for me, and I don't want to see it end, but all good things must. I'm unsure exactly how this is ending, but I have a few ideas… So here's my question to you guys:**

 **Would you like a happy ending or a realistic one?**

 **Please leave me a review telling me what you would think. We're less than 10 chapters away from the end, so there's not a lot of time left.**

 **Either way, I'm going to be writing an epilogue based on that ending.**

 **Also, have you guys been receiving emails when your alert stories update? I hadn't been receiving any (even for when I updated _this_ story, that's when I noticed something was wrong) but I've been getting them as of Wednesday... it was weird. **

**I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**


	26. Fright Night

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Twenty-Five: Fright Night

* * *

 _ **At the stroke of midnight, the carriage would change back into a pumpkin. But, this particular spell wasn't cast by a fairy godmother…**_

Nanako wasn't extremely interested in discussing plans for the event held at the end of October. She never really got excited over Halloween, despite all the camaraderie that usually went on around her.

She never really liked dressing up in general, which was weird considering how much she had to dress up for the Host Club.

So, she sat peacefully in her seat reading another book she had found in her room two days ago.

Well, peacefully until a certain female decided to appear in something other than the school uniform.

"Boring! Boring! Boring!"

Nanako looked up to see Renge standing on Haruhi's desk and posing.

"Halloween! They day that sounds the death knell of summer and ushers in the icy breath of winter."

Nanako wondered just how many outfits the girl had.

"Halloween. Once a day when ghouls walked the earth and disguised as ghouls, we tried to ward them all off."

She probably had a lot, considering how much money she had… not to mention her intense obsession with dating simulators and anime characters.

"Halloween. A day for wearing costumes and playing pranks on trick-or-treaters with reckless abandon."

Renge posed several more times.

"I don't think you're supposed to play pranks on trick-or-treaters…" Nanako scratched her temple.

A few of the other students were staring at Renge in confusion—most likely from her costume. If she wasn't careful, she could end up giving a show to anyone underneath her.

Renge explained that the uniform she was wearing was from Uki-doki Memorial 2 that wasn't going to release until the spring.

Their class representative nervously asked the teen to get off the desk, but she completely disregarded him and continued on with her rant.

"Tea parties and cosplay? The Host Club does that practically nonstop! What our Halloween requires is something special!"

"We're supposed to decide this as a class." The class rep was, once again, ignored.

"So I propose holding a Halloween Test-of-Courage Tournament! The bravest student wins!"

Nanako knew better than to get involved. Renge wouldn't listen to her anyway. She turned back to her book and flipped the page.

The students were pretty excited about it, aside from three.

One was beginning to shrink in fear, the second couldn't read the atmosphere, and the third sat by themselves, reading quietly.

"Um. All right then, are there any objections to the majority vote? Are there any at all?"

He could count on at least two people to back him up, right? Sure, he didn't speak to one of them, but she had a reasonable amount of sense to her. Surely one of them would speak up.

"Is anyone opposed to the idea?"

Haruhi stared at him blankly and Nanako didn't even look up from her book.

"Come on, anyone?"

Neither of them spoke up.

"Oh very well. Then the motion passes unanimously. The class 1-A event for this year will be a special Halloween Test-of-Courage Tournament."

The class cheered.

* * *

"Hey there." Nanako followed closely behind the twins who held Haruhi tightly in their grasp.

"You guys are late. Hurry up and get changed." Tamaki was holding one of his regular clients by the head as she looked absolutely enamored by whatever was about to happen.

"Oh, from now on until Halloween day, we're skipping club activities. By your leave."

"What?!"

Honey stepped forwards. "How come?"

"We have a class event until Halloween day, so we're busy getting ready for that."

Nanako was excluded from planning, however, due to what she stated were 'religious reasons'. In truth, she didn't really want to participate in the event, and while it was a small lie, she was interested in the Host club and their antics more than the Halloween scare tactics challenge.

Sure, it was her class, but they already had enough people to form even groups of four without her. She had already counted.

"Then it can't be helped."

"That being the case, carry on!" The twins began to drift off with a disinterested Haruhi in tow.

"Wait, wait, why are you taking Haruhi and not Nanako?!" Tamaki held up his hand in confusion.

"I opted out." Nanako said bluntly.

"And Haruhi is in our class, after all." Hikaru looked mischievous, and Kaoru followed suit.

"We're having a special test-of-courage tournament at the school, at night.

Inside Tamaki's mind theater, he began to imagine a play-like scenario where Haruhi got scared and clung to Hikaru and Kaoru with tears in her eyes.

"Haruhi, are you seriously planning to attend such an improper nighttime event?" Tamaki was well past the point of worry.

"Well, class camaraderie is important, and all." Haruhi tried to diffuse his feelings, but it clearly did not work.

"Camaraderie? Camaraderie, you say? What kind of camaraderie is that?!" He began to fall like he was going to faint, but quickly shot up and grabbed Haruhi by the shoulders.

"Letting his little girl go playing around at night is something that Daddy absolutely forbids! I won't allow you to go tramping around with these two devils alone! At least take Mommy with you! Nanako's in your class, so she can come, right?!"

"I already opted out, senpai."

 _ **There was the magic spell.**_

"Opt back in! Mommy, please don't let those trouble makers corrupt our daughter!" Tamaki blew his nose into his cloak and stared at Nanako with teary eyes.

"I said it was for religious reasons. I'm not going to turn around and say I lied to them—at least I'm not going to fess up to it." She muttered the last part to herself.

 _ **We may just be members of a club, but his highness calls Haruhi his daughter, and pictures us as members of his family.**_

"All right Haruhi, let's go." The twins grabbed Haruhi's shoulders and dragged her out.

"Adieu, sir!"

"Hey, wait! Include me in your event, too!"

"That's not allowed, Tamaki-senpai."

Eerie laughter came from somewhere behind them. Tamaki and Nanako both turned around to face a coffin that creaked open to reveal Nekozawa-senpai.

"When did you get in there?"

"I just heard something quite interesting." Nekozawa began, making Belzenef nod with his hand. "Is that right? You think it would be fun, too, Belzenef? If it's unfathomable terror they're after, those of us in the Black Magic Club will have to do our part as well. By all means, let us give the 1st-Years a Halloween present they won't forget."

The coffin closed, leaving the club alone to continue about their theme-day duties… if they could.

* * *

Nanako wore a vampire outfit similar to the remaining members of the host club complete with a gold ribbon that seemed to fade in with her hair. She was forced to pull it back in a high ponytail to keep it from detracting from the look.

Despite it being Halloween themes, nothing much was different. She still poured tea, handed out cake (which had tiny pumpkins, bats, spiders, and ghosts drawn on them with colored icing), and had small conversations with some of the girls.

The week progressed slowly, and because all first years didn't have classes, Nanako spent a large chunk of her time working on homework and reading in the third music room. It felt almost _right_ to spend the time away from her classmates. In retrospect, she _did_ spend a lot of time away from her classmates due to specific reasons in middle school, but those specific reasons stopped bothering her early into her third year.

Thinking about it… perhaps she had the host club to thank for that. They provided a service for girls with too much time on their hands, so that meant that any extra time spent gossiping was spent talking to boys instead.

 _Everything is fake but…_ Nanako scratched the back of her tingling head. _I'm sure it was very hard for her to deal with that._

There were some things about this body that still felt and remembered the most significant things in its life, and occasionally it was hard to tell if it was Alexae or Nanako who was hurting.

Before she knew it, the evening had rolled around, and Nekozawa's plans were put into action.

* * *

"Meiji?"

The dark haired girl, despite wearing a pure white yukata, wig, and face paint, was easy to spot by the way she held herself.

"Ah, Nanako." She raised her hand. "Good evening."

"What are you doing here?"

"Nekozawa-senpai asked me if I wanted to be a part of the plan to scare the first years. I figured why not. That meant I could paint my face to look extremely scary." She shivered. "They tried to give me a mask, but I declined. Do you know how dirty the inside of a mask can get? Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps."

Some people never changed.

"So… what are you supposed to be?" Nanako asked tentatively, not sure if she wanted an answer or not.

"I'm the clock tower witch." Meiji took Nanako's silence as a sign to explain what it was. "A long time ago a girl dressed up as a witch on Halloween and fell from a clock tower."

"Sounds… perfect for you." Nanako murmured, smiling ever so slightly.

"Thank you." Meiji procured a skull from thin air and stalked off down the hallway.

Ouran held many peculiar people.

The thing about Nekozawa's plan was that it didn't really involve her. They came up with ideas, but Nanako wasn't too enthusiastic about scaring friends, even if it was for fun. Overall, she just wasn't in the mood for it, and that was okay.

That also meant she could've gone home. However, she couldn't see herself being able to leave with a clear conscious. Maybe she was overthinking it, or maybe there was some secret pleasure wanting to watch people have the pants scared off them, but whatever the real reason was, she was _still_ at the school _still_ in the middle of the hallway.

A chorus of screams echoed through the school. Nanako jumped in surprise. She looked around for a moment before hearing quick footsteps coming from down the hall.

Kazukiyo ran into two rooms and didn't even notice her standing near the end of the hallway even though his eyes were wide open (and, although she couldn't see it, full of tears).

"Chairman, where do you think you're going! Calm down!" Kaoru noticed her standing there, but before either of them could call out their names, Kaoru and Kazukiyo were roughly shoved inside a room and the door was blockaded with sandbags.

"Nekozawa-senpai, was blocking the door really necessary?"

"Of course. It's all part of the terror strategy. Although you at the end of the hall was a nice touch. A light at the end of the tunnel, if you will."

"He _knows_ I'm out here."

Nanako pointed her finger towards the door. Muffled by the sandbags was the call of Kaoru yelling her name to let them out of the room.

"We'll let him out in due time."

"What am I supposed to do? Wait around and do nothing?"

"Precisely."

Nekozawa glided away.

Nanako sighed. "I'm going to become the worst girlfriend ever." She slid down the wall and brought her knees to her chest.

 _ **Sure, that way of thinking is fine. If you can keep on running the way you have been, that's not so bad. I'm sure that keeping a family setting, with fathers and daughters, is his highness' magic spell, to keep our current relationships from being ruined.**_

She closed her eyes for a moment (or at least what she _thought_ was a moment) and suddenly the sandbags were gone. However, before she could even get off the ground, Hikaru zoomed towards her and threw open the doors.

The brothers embraced. Nanako spotted Haruhi struggling to run down the hallway.

"Hikaru, did you leave Haruhi behind?"

"Oh… whoops."

Haruhi curled over, breathless, as she reached the group.

"Kaoru," The teen in question looked at Nanako to see her staring at a single point somewhere on his chest—her guilty look. "I couldn't get the door open… Sorry."

He shook his head. "It's okay, Nana." He placed a hand on top of her head and smiled. "I know you would've opened it if you could."

Knowing they were relatively safe, Nanako said her goodbyes and managed to get home without worrying too much. When she walked into her home, her father practically scared the life out of her.

"Dad! Don't do that!"

"Aww, but Nana, you look so cute when you're scared!"

"And what are _they_ doing here?"

The young twins barreled forward towards her and latched onto her leg. Yuki was decked out in a young witch costume while Hiro wore a mummy costume.

"We wanted to see you Nee-ko!"

"I wanted to scare you, too, but Oji-san beat me to it!"

The twins parents were in the room too, smiling at her from their spot at the counter.

"That reminds me, Nana, would you mind watching the twins while we go out for drinks?"

"Dad…"

It didn't matter that she protested, they left with smiles attached to their faces.

Nanako shuffled to her room with the twins still securely hooked on.

 _Why me?_

* * *

"And you've explained the rules clearly?"

"Yes."

The larger being hummed in their chair. Nova's gaze shifted around underneath their immensely intimidating one.

"I've reviewed her situation thus far… It seems to be progressing normally. There are no major alterations to the plot and she seems to fit in well." A few clips of Nanako smiling or laughing appeared on the screen to the right. "I'm relieved. This world has already experienced so many… questionable additions and we just finished purging the characters from it."

"Alexae is a nice girl. She knows her limits." Nova spoke up. "I was wondering… is there any way she could continue in this world?" Bright yellow eyes shifted in her direction. "I mean, can't we do a final review after the plot is over and decide whether or not to zap her back home? I don't think," Nova tried to reason, but was quickly silenced by the booming voice of her superior.

"If we do it for her, we must do it for everyone. It is not fair to everyone else if we make an exception for a girl with a troubled home life."

"But,"

"Nova," The superior sighed, pinching the bridge of their nose. "Her final review will go over what she did to help the plot. She will be sent home and the world will reset. Those are the rules."

"There must be a rule about staying! We've had wishers not come back! I've heard people talk about it."

"This discussion is over." The superior stood from their chair and headed towards large double doors.

"Wait, please give me an answer!"

But an answer never came.

* * *

Mindlessly, Nova hovered over Nanako, watching her as she slept quietly on the couch with the twins curled up under her arms.

Sighing, the goddess lowered herself to the floor and took a seat in front of the girl.

"I'm sorry. For everything. I've probably already said that a lot, but I truly am sorry. Unbelievably, this isn't my first mistake. I've lost track of wishers, I've brought them to the wrong world, I've let them d…" Nova shook her head. "I'm probably going to get terminated after this is over, and I'm okay with that. I'll go home or something… I should probably pay Celine a visit first. I miss her a lot—her and her emotionless face.

"In any case, I'm still going to try my best to keep you here. I'll work up until the final moments just so you can stay." Nova rested her hand on the girl's knee. "I promise everything will work out."

Nanako stirred from her slumber. She could barely see, but she saw a bleary Nova disappearing from view.

"What time is it?" Nanako murmured, turning her head around to look at the clock on the wall. It was closing in on one in the morning, and she still had the twins.

"How many drinks does he mean?" She asked, dropping her head onto the back on the couch and closing her eyes once more.

* * *

 **It's a small piece of Nova's life... She's been working on her end for a generous amount of time while Nanako does her thing in the Ouran-verse, and she finally got a chance to talk with the supervisor... but it didn't end so well.**

 **Nova is trying her best, but is it going to be worth it in the end?**

 **Thanks again for reading this story! I'll be back Friday with another installment!**

 **Oh, and don't forget Celine. You might be seeing her in a future story.**


	27. Who's The Scary One Again?

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Twenty-Six: Who's the Scary One Again?

* * *

" _Shinsengumi?!"_

Nanako's eyes sparkled and her cheeks burned red.

"This week's theme— _THE Shinsengumi?!"_

"We're not casting ourselves in any particular role, but yes. _The_ Shinsengumi." Kyoya typed away on his laptop, not sparing the girl a glance.

Nanako struggled to hold back a squeal. If there was one thing she liked about the late Edo era, it had to have been the Shinsengumi. She wouldn't have been all that interested had she not run across a romance novel a few weeks back and fell head over heels in love with the fictional but real characters.

It was probably the first time she'd cried over something as silly as a fictional romance in a long time.

"Wow, this is probably the most excited you've ever been for our theme days." Tamaki smiled at her enthusiasm.

"I wouldn't be this excited had I not read that beautiful, horrible, heart-wrenching novel a few weeks ago." Tears formed in her eyes as she recalled the tale. "It was so beautiful I cried about it for two days."

"What was it about?" Honey asked, squeezing Usa-chan to his chest.

"Okay," She leaned forward and gripped the back of Haruhi's chair. "So, there's the main character, Yamai, and she's this nurse that lives in the village that the Shinsengumi protect, although the villagers don't know that; they just think they cause trouble in the village, which is really sad when you think about it. So, one night, she's just living her life and then these bad guys come into her home and freak her out and end up burning the place down while the Shinsengumi guys are trying to fight them, so she's left with no home and no place to go, and she ends up wandering into the compound and…"

The way she told the story of the main character and Soji Okita was passionate. It showed on her face that she cared about the character, the plot, and everything in between.

"I had two bowls of miso soup after finishing the book."

"Why?"

"Because I needed to replenish the sodium I lost from crying so much!"

* * *

/\/\/\/\/\/\

* * *

Haruhi looked over at the squealing girls at Tamaki's station. From Nanako crying to the squealing girls, she would've never thought this theme would be so popular.

"I never would've thought that late-Edo era cosplay would be this popular." She tugged at the sleeve of her uniform.

"Come on, you can't be serious. That's one of the basics." Hikaru commented.

"There are plenty of girls who find the late-Edo era completely fascinating; Especially the Shinsengumi," Kaoru added, mirroring his brother's movements.

"And most of the girls who like it are complete maniacs about it!" Honey slid in with a smile.

"I mean, look at Nanako. Aside from crying, she's practically lost in an entirely different world." Hikaru pointed at the grape kimono-clad girl sitting with a dazed look on her face in Haruhi's area.

If you looked closely, you could see the tears streaming down her face, although it was hard to tell if they were out of joy or sadness.

"Are they popular because of the noble nature in which they sacrificed their young lives for the sake of their country? Or could it be because of their stoic determination—their choice to live out their lives by the Bushido code? Or could it be…?" Renge lifted a delicate hand to her mouth.

Kaoru began to fall to the floor, but just before he could hit it, Hikaru swiftly snatched him up and held him close to his chest.

"Don't die." Hikaru's voice was low and demanding as he looked at his brother with hard eyes—fully committed to the brotherly love act he had entered.

"I'm done for, brother… Let me go." Kaoru whispered, turning his head into his brother's chest.

The girls squealed in pleasure.

"Because we're intrigued because the worship of this renegade group of young men is somewhat forbidden?"

Renge slammed her fist on a table that had appeared in front of her. Beside her was a screen with a projected image of the Ikeda-ya Inn on it.

"The Ikeda-ya Inn may indeed be well-known, but it's only because of Hijikata. Just imagining him after the battle of Tobafushimi, his back to the north as he sorrowfully wandered the streets of his homeland, trying to defend the honor of the Shinsengumi all by himself, ahh!" She spun in a circle and held up three fingers with an excited expression. "I could eat three giant bowls of rice!"

"Agreed!" Nanako threw her hand into the air and proceeded to cry into the sleeve of her kimono.

"You know… I think dressing Haruhi as Soji Okita was _perfect!_ "

 _That_ explained why Nanako was hanging around Haruhi's area. Every now and then, through her blurry vision, she'd look at Haruhi for a moment and then begin to cry again.

"I miss him so much!"

Kaoru couldn't help but chuckle. She had called him sobbing and snorting and coughing just past midnight when she had finished the book and it took a full hour to calm her down. However, she reread the ending the following day and he had to physically take the book from her so she wouldn't cry again.

 _*Shhckk*_

The girls who were regulars of Mori and Honey squealed, although the members of the Host Club stared in shock at Mori's sudden stabbing at the door.

"Mori-senpai!"

"Why the sudden lunge?!"

"You're not getting enough attention?"

"Please calm down Mori-senpai! I know you're upset that you only get one line every few chapters! We're three-fourths through the story and you haven't had your own chapter, is that it? I'm sorry!"

"No." Mori removed his weapon from the door and slid it open to reveal a red-headed yankee-looking teen who didn't look like he belonged anywhere near the host club sitting on the ground. "We have a trespasser."

Nanako stopped crying long enough to notice the red-head flying towards her senior.

"Takashi Morinozuka!"

"A surprise attack?!"

Despite the mean look on his face and the way he seemed to hold himself—almost like he was going to fight—the teen began to grovel.

"Senpai! Please take me on as your apprentice!"

. . . huh?

* * *

/\/\/\/\/\/\

* * *

"Ritsu Kasanoda, 1st year, Class D. Heir to the 3rd-generation head of the Kasanoda Syndicate, the most powerful gang in the Kanto area."

Nanako eyed the redhead. Aside from his permanent scowl and slight maturity compared to other students on campus, he wasn't that scary.

"It is said if your eyes meet his, you'll have bad dreams for three months, if you bump into him, you'll end up in the hospital, and talking back to him will send you to an early grave."

 _That's a really sad stigma._ Nanako mused, feeling her heart go out to him. To think that he was so feared and could be so nice… it was almost like— _Stop thinking about it!_ Nanako shook her head furiously, whipping her ponytail out of place. She really needed to stop thinking about that novel.

"He is so feared by his classmates that they call him the walking blizzard."

"That can't _all_ be true. He's not that scary!" Nanako protested, waving her dessert fork in his direction. "If anything, he's just unfortunate." She stabbed her shortcake and shoved the slice in her mouth.

"So, why would a human weapon like yourself want to be Mori-senpai's apprentice?" Tamaki asked.

Kasanoda looked slightly meeker as he looked down towards the floor. "Well, because… I might look tough but I'm not a human weapon. I was just born with a face that makes me look mean all the time."

"At least you're aware of it, Casanova."

"It's Kasanoda."

"Bossa Nova?"

Calling him by the wrong name is not a good idea.

"I said it was Kasanoda! Do you wanna die?!" His voice ripped through the room, rocketing three members of the Host Club off the couch to hide behind it.

"He really _is_ mean looking."

Kasanoda quickly recovered and returned to his original seated position. The last thing he wanted was to scare the people who he was asking help from.

"Sorry. This always happens because of the way I look. I've always looked mean, ever since I was born. My father always said I was going to grow up to be a godfather, so that's what I was taught. My pops was a good teacher, and he made me a true gangster. That's great and all, but everyone is afraid to come near me. Even my fellas are scared of me so... I'm all alone." Kasanoda gripped his bangs in frustration. "I feel like they forget I'm young and sometimes I just wanna play. I wanna get out with my fellas and play a game of kick the can! But I've been living the life of a gangster and don't know how to act with regular people."

"Aww, poor guy."

Nanako nodded in agreement.

"Morinozika-senpai, that's why I need you to show me… how do you manage to have so many friends…"

Mori turned his head.

"…when you're just as mean looking as me?"

Mori's resolve broke. Nanako could've sworn she heard something inside of his head shatter.

"You're expressionless, distant, and you hardly ever talk! Not to mention you got a mug that looks like a watchdog from hell so, how come you got so many friends? What are you doing that I'm not?"

"Ouch." Nanako winced at Kasanoda's unintentionally mean description of Mori-senpai.

"Please, teach me your secrets!" The teen began to grovel again.

The senior pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, Takashi, are you okay?" Honey asked, leaning slightly to his left to get a better look at his cousin's face.

"I'm just a little light headed." He answered.

"Oh, well why didn't you say so? Take a few deep breaths and I'll go get you cold water, okay?" She patted his shoulder and swiftly moved to the prep room.

Returning moments later with a cold bottle of water, she set it on the table in front of him and told him, with a gentle smile, "Drink up!"

"You know… if you need our help, we'd be willing to assist you." She scooted herself into the table and picked up her fork. "It's what friends do."

Mori cracked open the cold bottle and drank half of it. "Tamaki."

The blonde looked at his senior and immediately took action.

How could he not when the look clearly screamed help?

"Very well. Mori-senpai, if you insist, I, Tamaki Suoh, promise I will do whatever I can to assist you." He lifted Kasanoda's head and smiled. "Lift your head, Bossa Nova."

"Look, it's Kasanoda."

"From now on, you may address me as 'King', okay Bossa Nova?"

"That's not my name."

"Are you listening to me, Bossa Nova?"

Kasanoda jerked upwards into an alert sitting position and looked just beyond Tamaki's head to see the Honey-haired female—the only one in the club who he just seemed to notice existed—was holding up a notepad with _'They'll never get your name right,_ ' written on it in crisp black permanent marker.

"There are many differences between you and our beloved Mori-senpai, but there is also one very definitive thing that you are lacking, and that is a lovely item."

"A lovely item?!"

Tamaki began to explain that Mori-senpai looked less scary with the addition of Honey-senpai by his side, and somehow he made it sound like Mori was just using the Loli.

Said Loli looked like he was going to cry as he asked his cousin if he really was using him for his looks.

"Have you really been using me this entire time?"

Mori shot out of his chair and began to shake his head.

"I'm sorry, but Honey-senpai is on a long-term lease to Mori-senpai, so we can't let you borrow him."

"Is Tama-chan telling the truth? Are you renting me?!"

Mori began to shake his head even faster.

"I'll think of something to take his place… So, the next thing we need to discuss is your disturbing yankee fashion sense."

Tamaki snapped his fingers and the Twins stood at attention.

"It's your job to make this man more fashionable."

"Rodger!"

Nanako carried the cake plates to the back and proceeded to wash them before putting them away. When she returned to the main room, she stared in horror as the twins let Kasanoda out of the room wearing something even _worse_ than what he came in wearing (which wasn't that bad).

"You two did _not_ let him walk out of here like that! He looks even scarier than normal!"

The twins sat on their knees in front of the girl with massive lumps on the back of their heads from her motherly fury. She had hit them with the thickest book she had, which just so happened to be a dictionary.

"I can't leave you guys alone for five minutes, I swear!" She huffed and tossed the dictionary back into her bag. "All you had to do was close his jacket or something. There was no need to give him dreads!" She rushed to the door to see if he was still in the hallway, but Kasanoda was nowhere to be seen.

"Now _I_ have to apologize for not being here to stop you two from going overboard." She sighed, sending a harsh glare towards the two at fault. "You two are being put on really short leashes, now."

When comparing Kasanoda to Nanako… who was the scarier one?

* * *

/\/\/\/\/\/\

* * *

Nanako got a call early the next morning from Tamaki who seemed much too excited with his brilliant idea for a lovely item.

"You want me to what?"

She listened intently.

"Did you tell Kaoru before telling me? And what did he say? …Hm… Why do I feel like you didn't really ask him? …because I've never heard Kaoru ever use 'totally' as an answer."

She opened the fridge and took out a bottle of juice. "Okay, but I don't even know when he's going to be at school. I also don't know his classes so how…" She stopped pouring juice into her cup. "Of course Kyoya would have that." She rolled her eyes and agreed to Tamaki's plan.

Kasanoda heard his phone _ping_ from inside his pocket. He fished it out, trying to ignore the people who were slowly moving out of his way out of fear. Flipping it open, he opened the text from the unknown number.

' _Kasanoda-kun,_

 _I got your number from Kyoya-senpai. Tamaki-senpai thought it would be a brilliant idea for me to pose as your 'lovely item'… I'll explain later._

 _Meet me at the fountain with the peeing cherub at eight. Oh, and please be punctual._

 _-Nanako (Host Club)'_

He glanced up at the clock tower to see that it was three minutes 'till. He cursed and rushed over to the fountain.

When he got close, he spotted her on the opposite side, squatted by the edge with her fingers dipped in the water. She must've heard him approach because her head popped up and her aquamarine ones met his brown ones.

She touched her fingers to her face to make sure they were completely dry before extending her hand out towards him. "Nanako Morikawa. First year, Class A. Not a gangster." A small smirk played on her face as he shook her hand.

It was weird. Was she not worried about having nightmares for three months?

"Tamaki-senpai's plan was to make me your walking buddy so people can see that you're not all that scary. I mean, if you're talking to a nice girl, why wouldn't you be a nice guy?"

She turned on her heel and began walking. He quickly followed.

It was a little awkward—no, a _lot_ awkward—for Kasanoda, especially since he's never really gotten the opportunity to walk with a girl, let alone _talk_ to one without her running away.

This girl, though…

"Uh, are you… do you… aren't you afraid of me?" He asked, beating himself up on the inside for not stopping to think before beginning to speak. She was going to think he was stupid, surely!

"Should I be?" She quipped, extending her arms out forward and rocking her bag back and forth. "You're not going to break my legs or anything, are you?"

"No!"

"Then no. I'm not afraid of you." She let her arms drop back down to her front.

He observed her for a moment, noticing the slight curve of her nose and the way she carried herself—tall and poised, yet still swaying with every step she took.

Of course, he heard the whispers as they walked; Students wondered what exactly was happening, wondering if she had some debt to pay him, concerned that she had somehow gotten involved in something shady or that she was being blackmailed into hanging out with him, but she didn't seem to hear it.

"I used to hear whispers all the time in middle school," She murmured, turning her head ever so slightly towards him as they waited for their senpai's to show, "but I've learned to ignore them. I found that, if I listened and thought about what they were saying, it made me feel worse than I already did… It takes some work, but you just need something to distract yourself with." She pulled a novel from her bag and held it up. "I decided that filling my head with stories was better than drowning in frivolous gossip."

She opened the book and began to read.

 _Wow…_

Shifting from foot to foot, Nanako eventually lost her balance and bumped into her companion. "Sorry," She stood stark still this time, ignoring the pinch in her hip.

She must've slept on her leg wrong because somewhere inside of her pelvis near her left hip was a dull pain that seemed to be causing a few problems for her.

Just after eight fifteen was when Kasanoda spotted his senpai.

"Big brother Morinozuka!" He half squatted in a bow. "I just wanted to say good morning."

"Good morning to you Bossa Nova!" Honey greeted happily.

"Right back at ya, Haninozuka-senpai!"

The temperature around them dropped as passersby froze.

"Back at ya." Honey hid behind Nanako.

She gently rested her hand on his head, not once letting her eyes leave the page. "You might want to lower your voice, Kasanoda." She warned.

"Want me to carry your bag to class, senpai?"

"That's okay, I can manage."

Suddenly, Mori pushed Kasanoda back and held his arm out slightly towards Nanako, making her step back just before a potted plant slammed into the ground from above.

A few seconds later, a second potted plant plummeted from the sky. Mori swiftly hit it mid-air and sent the breaking pieces just beyond Nanako's body.

She had her book held up in front of her face so the pieces and dirt wouldn't disturb her reading.

Kasanoda stared in confusion as students began to crowd around the tall senior, asking him if he was okay with general concern. There was no sign of fear.

"We should probably go to class."

He looked at the hand extended towards him and took it, using it as leverage to get himself off the ground. The two walked silently—one in thought and the other lost in a fictional universe—through the courtyard and indoors to get to their respective hallways.

All they had to do was climb the staircase and they would split ways.

When they got to the top, they stopped to look at each other, her book finally sliding back into her bag. "Uh, thanks for today."

"You're welcome… although I don't think anything really changed… It was nice talking, though."

She smiled at him and his face turned red.

"Y-yeah." He replied with an awkward smile.

"Nanako!" She turned her head towards the voice and he noticed her features practically beam with joy.

"Good morning Kaoru!" She dashed towards him enthusiastically and gave him a quick hug.

Kasanoda noticed it then. He might not be the brightest when it came to romance, but he wasn't blind.

It was then that he realized that the only girl he'd ever actually spoken to wouldn't ever be interested in him.

And he was strangely okay with that.

He turned around to head towards his hallway when something terrible happened.

There were several distinct thuds and a flurry of gasps that ripped through the area.

 _No way._

Kasanoda looked around to see that the girl was not even on the same level anymore, instead, passed out at the bottom of the staircase with a loopy look on her face.

 _There's no way…_

His 'lovely item' ended up in the nurse's office.

He didn't really believe that having someone bump into him would put them in a hospital!

* * *

/\/\/\/\/\/\

* * *

' _What…happened? Where am I?'_

This wasn't her bed and this didn't seem anything like the rooms she'd seen in the host club.

"Oh, you're awake!" Nanako pushed herself upright and realized she was in a hospital— _no, wait… just a really nice nurse's office._

"You took quite a tumble this morning. I'm surprised you weren't seriously injured." The nurse looked oddly familiar, but Nanako couldn't put her finger on it.

She glanced down and noticed that the nurse was floating.

' _Wait a second!'_

"Nova! What the hell are you doing here?!" Nanako yelled, realizing that the nurse looked exactly like Nova with normal hair.

"Ahh, I've been caught!" Nova snapped her fingers and the black hair swiftly colored itself back to the striking blue she'd always worn. "What do you think about black hair, though? Did it suit me?"

"Why the hell did I fall down the stairs? And why don't I have, I don't know, a broken leg or something?"

Nova's eyebrow twitched but her smile didn't fade.

"Nova… did you push me down the stairs?"

"I only did it because I knew you weren't going to die!"

" _NOVA! You don't push people down a flight of stairs!"_

"It was for the sake of the plot!"

"Sake of the plot, my ass. I could have died!"

"But you didn't, and that's thanks to me!" Nova began to pout. "You should be thanking me for a lot of things. I've been working my butt off to help you."

Nanako pinched her nose. "You've been gone for months and you suddenly start coming back now?"

"Not my fault."

"Thanks, _I guess_ , for not letting me die…" It suddenly dawned on Nanako that she didn't know what time it was. "What time is it?"

"About four fifteen, why?"

" _FOUR FIFTEEN—I'VE BEEN SLEEPING ALL DAY!"_ Nanako rocketed out of the bed, pulled on her shoes, and dashed out of the nurse's office.

She returned seconds later with a frown on her face. "If you're going to play doctor, at least use a chair. You wouldn't want actual students seeing you floating."

With that, Nanako booked it to the host club. When she got outside of the doors, she curled over and gripped her knees.

' _This school is too big… Why do all the halls look the same? I got lost twice trying to get here!'_ She thought, coughing into her sleeve, and shaking her head. Getting control of her breathing, she stepped forward only to have the door slam open and Kasanoda run by in what looked like a maid outfit— _her_ maid outfit (or something close to it).

"Young lord!" Another person rushed out after him, not noticing the girl standing just off to the side of the doors.

She walked in quietly.

"Hikaru. Kaoru."

The twins froze.

When they turned to look at her, she was practically on fire, glaring at them with everything she had.

"Didn't I tell you two that you were on short leashes?"

She was smiling. _WHY WAS SHE SMILING?_

"Do you know what happens when you get in trouble while _on_ those short leashes?"

She pulled something from her bag—a bigger, thicker book than the dictionary she had yesterday. She gripped the book in both hands and held it up.

"Newton's first law." She began walking towards them. "An object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an outside force… So," She tilted her head to the left, the smile plastered on her face, unmoving, "that _must_ mean that this physics textbook will stay in motion until it hits your skulls, right?"

Between her and Kasanoda, Nanako was by far the scariest one.

* * *

/\/\/\/\/\/\

* * *

Nanako eyed the blazer momentarily.

"I can probably have it out by tomorrow, but I think it needs to be dry-cleaned… I've never really had to work with suits before."

"You really don't have to do that. I can do it myself."

Nanako shook her head. "I like helping! It's really not an issue for me." She tapped her fingers against the extra uniform on the table. "Hurry up and change already."

Haruhi shrugged off the dress shirt and her own undershirt (somehow paint had managed to get on that, too) while Nanako did her best to lessen the blow of the red paint.

"I'll probably have to pick up alcohol from the store on the way home… I think that'll work against the paint." Nanako wiped the excess paint that she scraped off on a towel.

Haruhi looked at the white undershirt Nanako had lent her. "Are you really okay with me borrowing this?"

Nanako nodded. "Of course. You can keep it if you want. All it does is sit in my gym locker."

Despite saying that, the undershirt smelled like perfume and scented laundry soap. Haruhi expected some kind of indication that it had been used for gym, but there was none.

She lifted it up over her head.

"Hey, you okay? I'm sorry about the…"

Nanako looked up and winced.

' _Crap…'_

Kasanoda was red, staring in shock at Haruhi who was hiding her bra from sight.

"My bad!" The male quickly left the room.

Nanako sighed. "I mean… I don't think he did it on purpose… He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to do that. It's really just an accident, so I wouldn't worry about it too much."

Haruhi pulled on the undershirt. "Yeah."

Bagging the paint-stained clothes, Nanako scurried over to the door and let herself out carefully.

"Okay whoa! Put the bat down!"

She yanked the bat from Hikaru's hands.

"Did you peep at Nanako, too?!"

"I wasn't changing!" She pried Kaoru away from Kasanoda and pressed the end of the back into Hikaru's stomach to keep him at a reasonable distance. "It's just an accident guys! It's not like he intentionally walked into the room to see Haruhi's breasts."

" _Haruhi's breasts?!_ "

"Wait, that came out wrong—HIKARU! Give me the bat back!" With one hand gripping Kaoru's belt, the other trying to regain control of the bat, and one foot off the ground to keep Hikaru at an even _larger_ distance, Nanako was truly struggling to calm the situation.

"What I _meant_ to say was that he's not a bad person, okay? It was an accident and he didn't see much anyway… I mean other than the fact that Haruhi is actually a girl, but that's beside the point!" She stumbled back and held the bat up defensively in front of Kasanoda. "There's no need to beat anyone into a coma and there's no reason to regress over a misunderstanding, _Tamaki._ "

The members turned their heads towards their leader. He was so in shock that he literally lost all color and was sitting in a fetal position against one of the pillars.

"Well, now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag… Let's talk." Kyoya adjusted his glasses.

Nanako stepped away from Kasanoda, the bat still in her hands.

"Haruhi is compelled to hide the fact that she is a girl due to certain mitigating circumstances. While we can't physically force you to cooperate exactly, there is something I would like for you to bear in mind. Coming from the sort of family you do, you probably hear all sorts of juicy little rumors, enough to know what is true and what is not. Take the Ootori family's private police force, The Black Onion Squad. It is said that they can be mobilized against our enemies in the blink of an eye…" Kyoya smiled. "You have heard of them, right?"

Nanako briefly recalled encountering them at the water resort, but at that time, they were lying on the ground beat up by Honey-senpai.

"Come on guys, stop scaring Casanova." Haruhi stepped out from the prep room. "Sorry about this. Look, it's all right. It doesn't really matter to me. You can tell whoever you want to."

Looking over at the still-regressing Tamaki, Nanako decided she would try talking to him… but first…

 _*poke poke poke*_

Nanako giggled slightly as she jabbed the bat into Tamaki's side.

"So, now that you know Haruhi is a girl,"

"Are you in love with her?"

Tamaki suddenly popped out of his regressive state but quickly went back in with a terrified look on his face.

Nanako had to scrape him off the wall to get him to go home.

* * *

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

* * *

The following day…

' _Chaotic.'_

Nanako was running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

' _Way too chaotic!'_

She was constantly setting out new cups and refilling them because it seemed like every guest who had ever come to the host club was gathering on this day.

Why?

Because you can't put out the Fiery Flames of Moe.

"Nanako!"

"Coming!"

She didn't even have time to slow down! She would be out of tea so she'd make another teapot filled to the top and start boiling a new pot of water before returning to the main room. _Then_ she'd run out of sandwiches and sweets, so she'd have to rush to the back room and fill her cart with more. _THEN_ she'd have at least twenty girls asking for more tea and the cycle repeated itself.

Her legs burned.

She should have eaten a proper breakfast!

There was a small lull in her job—thankfully—so she managed to stop by and at least try to stretch out her legs.

She watched Tamaki fly through the air twice on her way to and from tables—the first time to interrupt the duo and the second time deflated from being told he's not Haruhi's father. The girls began squealing excitedly at one point and she stopped in her tracks.

"Fujioka, I… I have something to say."

She felt one of the girls behind her grab her forearm. It seemed like everyone was ready for what was about to happen.

Everyone except Tamaki, of course.

"I just wanted to tell you…"

The girl gripped her arm even tighter, leaning forward so far Nanako wondered if she would fall if she let go of her arm.

"I just wanted…to tell you… that I'm…"

"That you're excited you have someone you can relate to."

Everyone stared at Haruhi with various emotions.

"I know I sure am. A conversation like this is a rare thing for me." Haruhi stood and turned towards Kasanoda. "We're going to be great friends."

Nanako slapped her hand to her forehead.

"Haruhi…" ' _You're so dense…'_

"He got shot down!"

"He didn't even get a chance to profess his love."

"Oooh, the friend's thing… that really stinks!"

"I bet that rejection haunts him for the rest of his life!"

"Poor guy. So tragic!"

It took Kasanoda a moment to recover, but he did something Nanako would never expect.

"Of course the two of us are gonna be friends. Best of friends. Forever!"

There were so many tears, this time _not_ from Nanako.

* * *

/\/\/\/\/\

* * *

" _Hyper Starlight Kick!_ "

* _crack!*_

The can went flying into the air and all the players scattered through the grassy courtyard, giggling and laughing all the way.

Nanako followed Honey and Mori to the tree they've been hanging out in for the last three games and climbed her way up in it. She tucked her dress under her legs and crossed her feet at her ankles.

"So, Hika-chan may seem oblivious, but deep down he's beginning to understand his feelings? And even though it's clear to the rest of us how Tama-chan feels, he's still completely in the dark about it himself?" Honey asked, looking down into the maze.

"That sounds about right."

"Yeah."

"Wait, but what about Kao-chan and Kyo-chan? Between the two of them, there's probably someone even more oblivious than Tama-chan is…"

Nanako made a noise. "Kaoru might have feelings of admiration more than romance for Haruhi… I mean, she _is_ one of the only people to make it inside of Hikaru and his world… He probably appreciates her a lot for helping them grow as individuals."

"Like you have with Kao-chan,"

"Exactly."

"Hm… Considering that, I wonder if something really big is going to happen before we graduate?"

Nanako smiled.

"You never know."

* * *

 ***Soji Okita –** _ **Era of Samurai: Code of Love**_ **by** _ **Voltage inc.;**_ **If you're able to pay for games, I'd definitely recommend playing through this otome. I cried so many times playing this.**

* * *

 **Hello!**

 **I hope you took notice that I didn't make Kasanoda fall in love with Nanako... that wouldn't be following the plot, would it? It would've ruined two entire episodes, to be honest, and that's not what I wanted.**

 **I tried to keep her as busy as possible and give her a little misfortune to add to Kasanoda's...unfortunate blessings and stigmas.**

 **I'll see you guys Tuesday and for the last time next Friday! Thanks for all your continued support!**


	28. Where's the Fun in Goodbye?

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter 27: Where's the Fun in Goodbye?

* * *

"Nana,"

Their aquamarine eyes met from across the table.

"You have that look on your face… the look that tells me something is bothering you."

She lowered her gaze to her dinner and pushed around what was left on her plate. "I'm all right. I'm just not that hungry."

Her father stared at her. "Is it school?"

She picked up a piece of beef and looked at it.

"Friends?"

She placed a vegetable on top of it and ate it.

"If it's Kaoru, I swear—"

"It's not." She quickly answered, dabbing at her mouth, and excusing herself from the table.

She felt his eyes on her the entire walk to her room, and even after she closed the door.

For a moment, she felt uneasy, but it faded just as quickly as it appeared. Her hand dropped from the doorknob and she shuffled to her closet.

She changed clothes and slipped under the covers just after she wound up her precious music box and let it lull her to sleep.

The letter she had received in the mail was hidden inside her pillowcase.

Was it hidden from her father, or from herself?

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

The following day was the pre-fair preparation day.

Nanako found herself not necessarily in charge of anything other than making sure the Host Clubs outfits were in order and ready to be worn the next day. So, for most of the morning, she could be found in the club room making last minute hems, various additions, and making sure there wasn't a single stray hair or piece of lint on any of the costumes.

Tearing a sheet of the well-used lint-roller, she crumpled it up and tossed it into the trash before finally taking a seat after a full hour of standing (or squatting or stretching up to fix something or another on the mannequins she was using.

"This was harder than I thought it was going to be." She mumbled, kicking off her shoes and cradling her chin with her hand.

While she was working, she didn't think about anything else other than cleaning up the outfits, but now that she was presumably finished, everything that had been on her mind came flooding back.

It wasn't sadness, but frustration.

She was frustrated that she had pricked her finger seven times. She was frustrated that her shoes didn't support her anymore. She was frustrated that, of all the things that could've happened, she received a letter asking for help.

She was angered that the sender even contacted her.

Despite feeling anger, she felt sympathy. She knew she _shouldn't_ , but she couldn't help feeling it.

Her eyes shifted to her bag. She had tucked the letter inside it before she left, but she didn't know what exactly to do with it.

She could ignore it, that seemed to be the best option.

But… What if they desperately needed it?

Quickly, she got up from her seat, slipped on her shoes, and rushed out of the room.

She craved fresh air.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"You look proper,"

Nanako turned around and smiled. "Hey, Arisa! How have you been? I haven't seen you at the host club for a while."

Arisa looked a lot stiffer than normal, Nanako noted, taking in her straight back and overall appearance. She took on more of a business casual look rather than the day dress every other girl seemed to be wearing. Not only that, but her long brown hair was pinned up tight in a French twist.

"I've been a bit busy lately, with Nationals and all." She cleared her throat and shifted on her heels, straightening her back even further, if that was even possible. "I'm actually escorting my mother around, today. She's been adamant about my interests, you see, and I'm trying my best not to disappoint her." She leaned in and held up her hand. "Between you and me, I'm more worried about the stick up her—"

"Arisa, stand up straight!"

The older girl quickly righted herself and smiled politely. "Mother,"

Approaching was a middle-aged woman who looked similar to Arisa, but with slightly darker hair and glasses. She looked rather pompous from her facial expression and the way she held her hand up near her shoulder, rubbing her index and thumb together constantly.

"This is Nanako Morikawa. She's a friend of mine." Nanako bowed politely.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

"Likewise."

The woman looked around at the activities going on and then turned towards her daughter. " _This_ is where you spend your time? Being fawned over by men?"

"Well, not always. I prefer the company of female friends." Arisa glanced at Nanako and then back to her scrutinizing mother. "Normally we sit around, drink tea, and talk for a while. It's nothing scandalous, I assure you."

"I would hope not. We don't need any further bumps in the road." The woman spun on her heel and began to walk towards the door. "Come along, I want to get out of this place."

Arisa looked like she wanted to say something, but her mother called her again before she could figure out exactly what she wanted to say.

"I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully?"

Nanako nodded. "Of course. I'll be here."

After watching Arisa slip out of the giant room after her mother, Nanako returned to doing what she did best.

Serving tea and conversing with the masses.

She charmed her way through conversations as best as she could for an hour before encountering another friend—rather, friends and one new face.

"Mei? Izumi? What are you guys doing here?" Nanako asked with a pleasantly surprised smile. The last people she was expecting to see were them, _especially_ since they both had school on the fair days.

"We didn't get to see your club in action last time, so we thought we'd stop by," Mei said blandly, her glasses sliding down her nose only to be pushed back up a split second later.

"It was Mei's idea," Izumi informed. "She told me that she wanted to surprise you since you guys haven't met up in a while…Although she practically blackmailed me to show up."

"Not my fault your mom let me borrow your baby pictures."

"You shouldn't use those embarrassing photos to get your way!"

"I needed leverage."

"You're impossible."

Izumi turned towards his companion and gently pulled her forward from her curious observation of the fountain. "I want you to meet Hana. I met her over the summer."

"I'm also his girlfriend." She excitedly shook Nanako's hand with a bold, toothy grin. "Come on, Izumi, don't be embarrassed! Your friends look pretty nice, even if they are rich. Speaking of which, this whole place is pretty ritzy." She looked around everywhere, her brown curls flying in complete disorder. "I've never felt so glamorous and out of place at the same time!"

She was bold. And talkative.

"Why don't you guys take a seat and stay a while? We're pretty active today, so go ahead and people watch while I bring you drinks and some snacks."

Nanako gracefully gestured towards the sofa and watched the three seat themselves down before leaving to bring over a cart.

It was interesting observing the three as she returned. They dressed nicely—maybe not as fancy as everyone else, but they weren't horribly out of place. If you looked at them, you probably wouldn't notice they weren't from someone or another's family.

"Here you go," Nanako placed cakes, sandwiches, and teacups on the coffee table with a friendly smile. Mei began eating immediately, gracefully, despite her casual indifferent appearance. Izumi took a bit of time observing Mei before eating, wondering if there was any specific way to eat the sandwich other than with your hands.

Hana…

"Oh my gosh this is the cutest piece of cake I've ever seen!" She gasped, picking up the dessert plate and holding it at eye level. "I've only had homemade cakes—never anything like this! It smells so good!" She scraped up a large dollop of extra frosting and stuck it in her mouth. "This is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. I don't know if I can actually eat it."

"Are you crying?" Izumi asked, shocked that a food could bring the girl to tears.

"It's so delicious I can't help it!" She used Izumi's sleeve to wipe her eyes.

"Not on my sleeve." He sighed.

Nanako smiled.

They sat around and talked for a good portion of time before excusing herself to change into a dress for the remainder of the pre-fair day.

She wore the dress exclusively designed by Yuzuha Hitachiin from the first ball the Host club hosted, and when she returned to the club, her friends had gone. Checking her cell, a message from Mei informed her that they would check out the rest of the fair and then go home for the day.

Nanako approached the gathering of host club members by the fountain.

"That's Tamaki-senpai's grandmother?" Nanako let her eyes travel to the elderly woman walking towards Tamaki just beyond the fountain.

"Please, come in. Take a seat," Tamaki held out his arm and gestured towards an empty seat. It was clear he was being polite, but when the woman walked by him, Nanako felt herself reeling.

"Don't touch me. Filthy child."

 _What?_

"Lady Éclair, come over here for a moment, please."

A woman in a red dress and hair the same color as Nanako's brushed by her, twirling binoculars behind her back.

"Hey, I was just…" Haruhi murmured, staring at the woman's back.

"What?" The twins asked, glancing at the brunette.

"For the remainder of the day and tomorrow, you will be Lady Éclair's personal escort."

 _Wait, but he's supposed to be with us…?_

"What's wrong? I gave you an order?" The grandmother commented sternly, expectant for an obedient answer.

"Very well, Grandmother. I will do everything in my power to ensure her happiness… Just as you wish."

And with that, Tamaki and Éclair left the room.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Thank you,"

Nanako graciously accepted the teacup from Kaoru and brought it to her mouth. She _was_ going to go explore, but she felt it was better that she stayed with the Host Club while Tamaki was missing.

Rose tea. Already sweetened just how she preferred it.

Kaoru gave her a knowing smile.

She finished her tea before Tamaki's name came up in conversation.

"Tama-chan really isn't coming back, is he?" Honey asked, gazing towards the door disappointedly.

"So, does he really plan to spend—"

"—the entire fair escorting some stranger?"

Nanako eyed the door, hoping that their king would walk through with his cheerful smile and begin entertaining guests again, but every time it opened, her hope crumbled a little bit.

"Éclair, right? Or something like that."

"But who is she to him? That's the mystery."

"I can tell you,"

Renge walked up to the group with her hand closed near her heart. This was probably the most docile Nanako had ever seen the girl, and while it was nice, it just didn't feel right to see her so serious.

How was it that she missed the crazy otaku Renge?

"Éclair Tonnerre. She's the youngest daughter of the renowned French Tonnerre family. They descend from royalty."

 _Royalty… huh?_

"Indeed, the family has quite a history. Their wealth is something of a legend among financial heavyweights, in fact, just being associated with them makes you part of a very elite group." The members of the host club turned their eyes to Kyoya who had ceased typing. "They also own Grand Tonnerre, a firm that's been buying up a lot of businesses in Japan lately." He resumed typing. "Of course, that doesn't explain why Lady Éclair has come to see Tamaki."

"Nanako!"

Hearing her name, her head popped up to search for the owner of the voice.

"Father!" Nanako shot out of her seat in the least graceful way possible and hugged the man. He laughed lightly and planted a kiss on her head.

"You look so cute!"

"Father, you're crushing me."

He let go immediately with a rushed apology. "Sorry I couldn't come in sooner. Can you believe it takes me forever and a day to leave work? I can't say they need me, I don't do _that_ much."

Nanako sighed. "How are your musicians going to take you seriously if you keep doing stuff like this?"

"It's not that bad."

"That's what _you_ think."

He laughed louder this time, earning a few looks from surrounding parents. "I'm taking a late extended lunch, so it's not all that bad. If they need me they'll call me." He spun her around and pushed her towards the group of boys. "How have you all been?"

It was interesting to see the somber mood of the boys turn settled in the presence of her father. The disappearance of their president still bothered them, but having someone they knew that liked to tell stories and talk about things they found interesting (well, some of them) was relieving.

He took off to talk to a few other people when the hosts began to leave to change outfits for the third time that day. Nanako was left by herself for a while, but she wasn't bothered too much. It gave her some time to think.

Was that dangerous? Possibly.

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

"Oh, how dashing!"

Nanako tilted her head and saw Haruhi walking in wearing the cream-colored tailcoat she had made sure was spotless that morning.

"Haru-chan looks great!"

"Yeah, she does."

Nanako moved her head back and finally noticed the fingers tangled in her hair. "Oh, sorry," Kaoru wiggled his fingers from her ponytail and propped up his head.

"So where did the boss go?"

"He was looking forward to this the most."

"Our King is lounging in Music Room Three. He's entertaining Lady Éclair."

Nanako winced at Haruhi's hard tone.

"Well, well, well…"

"Looks like someone is a little jealous."

Nanako slowly agreed.

Haruhi turned to the side. "Like I said, I'm not."

"Like you said?" The other Host Club members said together, confused.

"I… I just think that he's being more irresponsible than usual today." She glanced at Kyoya. "You said it yourself, he's impulsive."

Kyoya sat still, not glancing away from his laptop. "True, he certainly is. But in this instance, he is obeying the whims of his grandmother.

Nanako and Haruhi both recalled seeing the woman earlier in the day.

"Hey, is it just me, or was Tamaki-senpai's grandmother really cold to him earlier today? Is there some special reason for that?"

Nanako hadn't a clue.

How could she have guessed?

"Tamaki-senpai is illegitimate."

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

" _Hey, are you okay? You look like something is bothering you."_

Nanako held her phone loosely in her hands and stared down at the streets far below her home.

" _My dad asked the same thing… I'm fine, really."_

 _Kaoru gently took her hand and held her fingers._

" _I will always be here to support you. You can tell me anything, Nana," He kissed her fingertips and pushed her hair behind her ear._

She backed away from the wall that kept her from falling over the edge and sat down, removing the letter from her back pocket.

Her eyes raced through the words for the seventh time since she'd received it two days ago. She knew what they wanted. It wouldn't hurt to give them some, right? Just to help them out?

" _I…" Nanako pursed her lips. "I received a letter two days ago…"_

" _From who?"_

Punching in the numbers at the end of the letter, Nanako pressed the call button and lifted the device to her ear.

It took three rings for them to answer.

"I didn't expect you to call… Although, I'm glad you did."

Her head wasn't right, and neither was her heart. The letter, the impending end, the dissolution of the Host Club… Everything let up to this break—to this decision that she wouldn't have considered had she been in her right mind.

"Hello…Mother."

* * *

/-/ **Intermission** \\-\

 **(Feel free to take a break for a bit)**

* * *

By the time nine-thirty rolled around, Nanako finally willed herself to get out of bed and eat something.

She made herself a simple breakfast—spreading jam over accidentally burned toast and an orange that wasn't as juicy as she originally thought. Ignored were the texts asking her where she was and if she was okay.

The only message not ignored was one from Kyoya that she had received at three in the morning, waking her from a fitful sleep and keeping her awake until seven.

' _Nanako,_

 _You will not be needed at the Host Club today. Your father insisted on paying the remainder of your debt._

 _It is up to you to decide if you would like to stay in the Host Club._

 _-Kyoya'_

What would be the point of going to school if she wasn't needed?

She dressed herself in pants, a black t-shirt, and a puffy white jacket that she didn't really need. Slung across her body was her purse that protruded from her hip. Her hair was braided, her lip was tight, and she set out to meet her mother for lunch.

Nanako arrived, on time, at exactly eleven fifty-five. Her mother arrived, late, at twelve fifteen. When the woman walked into the brightly lit restaurant, she smiled and immediately came to hug her _dearest_ daughter.

"My, my, look at how much you've changed! You've become so beautiful. I can hardly believe it." Her mother kissed her head. "Is that a new jacket? It looks wonderful on you."

Nanako clenched her hands hidden in her pockets.

They were seated in the middle of the restaurant. Nanako settled for water while her mother ordered an expensive bottle of wine.

"So, how have you been? Has school been all right for you?"

"Do you have a boyfriend yet? You do, don't you? Women always look so radiant when they're in love."

"How is your father? Well, I hope? He's always been happy, but he sounded so angry in those voicemails… I was afraid he hated me."

The façade the woman was putting on kept going deeper with every question she asked. Nanako knew her mother was faking, trying to be nice long enough to get what she wanted and leave.

Nanako ordered pasta, even though she knew she wouldn't eat it. She felt too disgusted to eat.

"I don't need that much. I just need enough to get me around and buy me food while I get back on my feet in Okinawa. You have that credit card, don't you? I can just borrow that. It's not a charge card, so there's no need to worry. Your father won't know about this."

Nanako eyed the woman for a moment before taking out her wallet silently from her purse. She slid the card from its place and held it out. "This card has one million yen on it. Is that enough?"

Her mother's eyes sparkled as she eyed the card. "Thank you so much, Nana-chan! I knew you still cared about me." Just before she grabbed it, Nanako pulled the card back and narrowed her eyes.

"Nana-chan?" She scoffed. "You've never once called me that. Why are you being so nice to me?"

The actress looked annoyed for a second but the look was quickly swallowed up with the fake smile. "I thought I'd start fresh. I've never been a good mother to you… I want to restart our relationship."

"Why now?" Nanako pressed, holding the card even tighter in her hand.

"As they say, there's no time like the present. Can't we just put it all behind us and forget all that ever happened?"

Nanako's eyes widened.

"Forget…?" Her eyes looked down towards her lap. "Forget, you say?" Nanako looked at the photo in her wallet. "You want me to forget everything? You want me to forget all the times you left me alone? All the times you brought your coworkers home and slept with them? All the times you forced me to dance even when it hurt to walk because you made me work on pointe shoes for hours? To forget that _you_ were the one that caused me to tear my ACL? To forget all the times you told me I wasn't _fit_ to be your daughter? Forget all the times you called me fat? Forget when you called me useless? Forget when you told me you wish I wasn't even born?"

Nanako was screaming now, tears flowing down her face. "To forget that you've _always_ been cold to me and never known me so much as an ounce of love? For sixteen years— _sixteen damn years—_ I hoped you'd show me something— _anything_ —but you only care about _yourself_ and what _you_ want. It was never about us! You never cared! We were nuisances on your precious career, and you think that I'm stupid enough to _give_ you money when you're acting like the perfect mother? How dumb do you think I am?!"

"Nana-chan, calm down—"

"Don't you DARE call me that." Nanako slammed her hands on the table. "I felt sorry for you, but you…" She pointed her finger at her mother. "You don't deserve my sympathy."

Nanako dug into her wallet and took out several large bills. Tossing them at her mother's face, she pulled on her jacket and left in a huff.

Marise had never felt more embarrassed in her life.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

She walked mindlessly for several hours and eventually found herself outside of the Third Music Room.

How long had she been walking? Had she really walked that far?

Pushing open the door, she was relieved to see that no one was in there. They wouldn't have been, she thought, because they were holed up in the salon, entertaining their guests.

Her feet numbly carried her to the nearest couch, and she fell into it, her head bouncing off the cushions with ease.

She didn't cry. Her tears had run out a little while after she left the restaurant, and there was no way she was going to cry over a mother who never loved her.

She needed to rest. At least for a while.

Everything was too stressful these last few days.

It couldn't have been that long before someone pulled her from her slumber. Amber eyes gazed into her aquamarine ones.

"Where have you been all day, Nana?"

She smiled.

She grabbed Kaoru's arm and pulled him down onto the couch. He yelped, but he was quickly quieted by Nanako's lips on his.

"Well, I stayed home without telling anyone, met my mother who put up a nice façade to get money from me, told her off, cried, walked all the way here somehow or another and took a nap…"

"Sounds like a busy day?"

"Very."

She kissed him again, this time with a little more urgency. He hesitated to touch her, of course, because he was supposed to be returning to the salon to meet with the others.

Speaking of which…

"You're going to ride in the carriage with us for the parade, right?"

She blinked. "…I think I want to watch this time."

Kaoru nodded. "And what about the dance?"

"I have my dress in the back. I picked it out to suit your rose color."

"I'm sure it looks even better on."

"It does, trust me." She got up off the couch and held out her hand. "All right, come along. I should at least see you guys off for the parade, right?"

He took her hand, smiling affectionately. "Of course, my princess."

They entered the salon hand in hand. "Ah! Nana-chan! You're here!"

She bowed slightly when she got close. "Sorry I wasn't here today. I had a few family issues to attend to." She straightened her back and glanced around at the outfits. "Oh, you all look so nice! Does everything fit okay?"

A flurry of agreement got her to smile even brighter.

"What's with this outfit, anyway?" Haruhi asked, messing with the clip in extension she was being forced to wear.

"We told you, it's a costume for the special parade!" Hikaru explained.

"You look so cute, Haru-chan!"

"I agree."

'No, it's not that…" Haruhi stared into Nanako's eyes. "Why am I the only one dressed as a girl? Didn't you have a costume, too?"

"Who cares? It's cosplay. It's perfectly okay for you to dress like a girl!" Hikaru laughed.

Nanako scratched her head. "I do… but I think I'm going to watch with the girls for once. Thought I'd give being hosted a try, you know…" She trailed off, knowing they all heard the unspoken ending to her answer. ' _…before the Host Club disappears.'_

"Well?"

Kyoya snapped his phone close. "No luck. He's not there."

"We still can't get a hold of him?" Nanako asked, getting a few head shakes as an answer.

"I can't believe Senpai didn't show. I really thought he was gonna make it, despite what she said." Haruhi said.

A pregnant silence engulfed the salon.

Suddenly, Kyoya called someone new. "Hello, Shima? It's been a while, hasn't it? It's Kyoya."

The bespectacled man was silent as he listened to the other end of the line, but a small gasp caused everyone to turn towards him.

"How could he be that stupid?" He lowered the phone away from his ear. "Evidently, Tamaki is planning to return to France."

A chorus of confusion rippled through the group.

"He's doing _what?_ "

"Tama-chan is gonna leave us?"

"You gotta be kidding!" Hikaru began shaking. "He can't just let it end so suddenly."

Nanako gripped his forearm, both trying to calm Hikaru down and let him know he's not the only one feeling the way he does.

"Tamaki!"

Everyone except Haruhi rushed for the window to see the blonde taking off in a red convertible. "What the hell?!"

"The fair isn't even over yet!"

"My family's car should be in the parking lot. Haruhi, let's go!"

The club was in a race against time. They needed to get to Tamaki fast before everything was over for good.

Nanako's feet burned as she trailed close behind the twins.

Kyoya reached the car first and leaned towards the driver's window. "We're in a hurry, can you drive us?"

Huffing and puffing, Nanako gripped onto Kaoru's arm to keep her upright. _I'm so tired… but I can't quit now!_ She forced herself upright and breathed heavily through her nose.

Footsteps alerted everyone that there was something horribly wrong going on. The Black Onion squad began surrounding the teen.

"You want to tell me what your orders are? Let me guess… You've been hired to protect Lady Éclair?" Kyoya offered, glaring at the men.

Kaoru protectively moved Nanako behind him.

"I'm truly sorry it has come to this… but as you know, as members of the Ootori private police, we answer to your father. I'm terribly sorry, sir, but we made a promise not to let anybody leave… even if we have to stop you by force."

Echoing through the parking lot was the sound of horses running along the concrete. From the left came the French-imported carriage with Mori and Honey in the seats.

The smallest hopped out and landed on the ground.

"Hikaru, take the carriage. If you take the back hills bypass, you can cut them off." Mori stepped off and stood right beside his cousin.

Nanako turned Kaoru around and stared into his eyes. "Be careful, okay?"

"You're not…"

"It's not my place." Nanako kissed his cheek and entwined their fingers tightly. "Hikaru,"

The older twin looked at her.

"I swear, if anyone gets injured, I'm going to hit you so hard."

She let Kaoru clamor into the carriage and hold his hand out to Haruhi.

Kyoya whispered something into Haruhi's ear and pushed her forward into the carriage.

"Now go! Hurry! This is your chance!"

The carriage sped off.

Nanako stood back and watched in shock as her seniors almost literally destroyed everyone in the Black Onion Squad.

"Picking on my friends is a big no-no!"

Nanako stared at her seniors in awe. "I can't believe you two took out an entire police force. By yourselves."

Honey smiled at her. "If it's for the Host Club, we'll do anything. Family is everything, after all, Nana-chan!"

The girl blinked several times before returning his smile. "You're completely right."

The four remaining members of the Host Club piled into Kyoya's car and headed out. They were heading towards the main road when Kyoya redirected the driver towards the bypass. They came across the twins sitting in a wild pumpkin patch.

Nanako was barreling towards them before the car could even make a complete stop. She tripped over a vine and tumbled forwards, landing right in from of Hikaru who was cradling his arm.

"What the hell happened?" She asked, pushing herself up and staring at the two.

"The carriage wheel hit a hole and bumped the car up… and Hikaru fell out."

Nanako locked eyes with the older twin.

"Okay, look, I was trying to hurry, so if you're going to hit my arm, at least hit my—"

Her eyes bubbled with tears.

"Left one."

She wrapped her arms around his head and held him to her chest. "I'm so glad you're okay, you reckless idiot!"

Hikaru blushed in embarrassment, although he didn't move away. "You would've killed me if I ended up seriously injuring someone."

"You're completely right." She sniffled, backing away, and rummaging through her purse. After a moment, she pulled out a long towel.

"Where did you even pull that out from?" The twins asked in unison, staring at her purse that was too small to hold such a large item.

"The void."

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Nanako was struggling with the zipper on her dress. She had gotten it about halfway up her back and she couldn't zip it up any farther.

She had sworn it fit yesterday… so why was it being such a pain now?

Huffing a stray hair out of her face, she readjusted the bodice of the orange asymmetrical tea length dress and placed another bobby pin in her hair. There were at least twenty in there already, but she needed to make sure it was secure, otherwise all her hard work curling it would be for nothing.

Trying once again to zip it up—sucking in air to make her thinner than she was—and still failing, she stuck her head outside of the curtain to see if anyone was lingering.

"Need help?"

"Ack!"

She almost fell out of the curtains. Kaoru had been standing to her left and spooked her. Her hand immediately found its way to his arm. "You _scared_ me. How rude!" She slid the curtain open and allowed him in. "I'm struggling to get it on, so yes."

He pulled the back together and zipped up the dress with ease. She let out a breath and rested her hands on her stomach. Her eyes locked with his in the mirror.

"What?"

He smiled.

"You look beautiful in orange, too."

She smugly looked at him. "I'd say I picked out a good color." She walked over to her makeup bag and pulled out two small boxes.

"Here."

He took the box from her and opened it up hesitantly. Inside was an orange rose corsage.

"I even got my own. That way we match and everyone knows that you and I are together." She pinned it on his medieval French costume and slipped her boutonniere on her wrist.

"Don't they already know that?"

Nanako hummed. "This time they'll know for sure." Pecking him on the lips, she zipped up her bag and tugged him out of the room, all the way down to the courtyard.

She immediately asked to dance.

"You're quite bold this evening," Kaoru noted, smiling down at her.

She nodded. "I have to. I need to be an upstanding young woman… Plus, I want to remember this night forever…"

If she wasn't as close as she was, she would have missed the flicker of sadness in his eyes.

"What would we be without you?" He asked suddenly, holding her a little closer.

Nanako pondered the idea. "The Host Club, minus a maid."

"And me?"

She pondered that, too. "Maybe in love with Haruhi? But instead of admitting it, you'd put your feelings aside for your brother's because that's the kind of selfless guy you are."

He spun her gently, the thick pleats of her dress fanning outwards beautifully.

"And you?"

For once, Nanako didn't have an answer. Where would she have been had she not gotten involved in the plot?

"I try not to think about it… yet, that is."

They were silent, staring into each other's eyes for a solid minute before Kaoru rested his forehead against hers. "I wish, in the next life, I fall in love with you all over again."

She chuckled. "I wish for that, too."

The song ended not long after they made their wishes. They parted, sending Kaoru towards Haruhi and Nanako to the fountain just beyond the courtyard. She didn't realize she was being followed.

"Hey, Nanako, can I talk to you?"

The girl in question turned and smiled.

"Sure, Arisa… what is it?"

Arisa took a moment to gather herself.

"Nanako… I'm—"

 _*bang bang bang*_

Arisa's heart stopped.

Nanako's eyes widened.

Arisa looked up at the fireworks display with wide eyes. She just wanted to do this one thing—was that too much to ask? _She probably didn't even hear me… what bad timing!_

 _*thud*_

"Hm?" Arisa looked down to see Nanako completely passed out on the ground. "Nanako?" The volleyball player bent down and shook the girl, but she got no response. She tried to rouse the girl a few more times, but when it produced no response, Arisa pressed two fingers to Nanako's neck.

She sprinted towards the Hosts.

"What's wrong, princess?" Tamaki asked, alarmed from the panic in her face.

"It's Nanako. She's not breathing."

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

 _No way…_

Bright yellow eyes stared down dark ones.

 _This can't be…_

"Alexae Jones, known to this verse as Nanako Morikawa… This is your final review."

 _I didn't…_

"I see Nova is not here… We can begin without her." The woman cleared her throat before standing and looking down upon our heroine. A projection showed Nanako in bed, waking up for the first time almost a year ago. She rushed to the bathroom, vomited, brushed her teeth, and was shocked to see that the body was not her own.

The rest of her 'life' passed by in a blur. Her mind reeled trying to keep up, but it was too fast. "Satisfactory. It seems we won't have to dispose of this character. Now, if there are any appeals to keep her, let them speak now."

Alexae looked around, desperately trying to find the blue haired goddess that was supposed to be here— _where was she?_

"Going once,"

 _Nova? Now would be the time for one of your appearing acts!_

"Going twice,"

"Nova! Nova, please! _Please!_ Where are you? You're supposed to be here with me! Where are you? _WHERE ARE YOU?!"_

Her heart was breaking.

A pregnant silence informed those in the room that there was no one there for her. Any shred of hope she might've had disappeared.

She dropped to her knees.

"Hm. Well, because there are no appeals…" A spotlight shone down upon the sobbing girl. "Alexae Jones, you are hereby dismissed from this world. You are not permitted to ever return. That is all."

 _I didn't even get to say goodbye…_

* * *

 **I will see you all Friday for the final installment of _I Didn't Wish for This_.**


	29. The End of All Things

I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter 28: The End of All Things

* * *

Alexae pressed her sleeve to her eyes, although that didn't stop the tears from flowing.

"God, would you knock it off? All your sniffling and sobbing is disgusting."

The girl looked up at the woman who had run the meeting—who she presumed was Nova's boss or supervisor. Her yellow eyes were narrowed in a glare and it was extremely unnerving to even hold her stare. Alexae looked away, not having the strength to speak.

"You know, you're one of the more tolerable wishers I've ever met," The supervisor squatted and grabbed hold of Alexae's face, squeezing her cheeks together painfully. The girl winced and tried to pull the hand away. "That sounds promising, does it not? Kind of a shame that I don't hold sympathy for you." She threw Alexae's face out of her grasp. "All of you are pathetic, really. Wishing for a new life… Your original one wasn't bad to begin with."

Alexae stood up weakly.

"Oh, boo hoo, your parents fight often. So, what? They don't abuse you. They don't take it out on you. You're too preoccupied with the idea that they don't pay enough attention to you so you want a new life with new parents who will dote on you and love you, isn't that right, girl?" The supervisor mocked.

The name plate on the desk indicated the woman's identity.

Seren.

"You got a doting father and a boyfriend who loves you _oh so much_." Seren leaned forwards with a smirk. "Was he your first?"

Alexae's tears had stopped.

"He _was_ , wasn't he? That makes it even better." She laughed cruelly. "You'll return home with nothing. That's truly wonderful."

"Hey!"

The two in the room turned towards the door to see Nova.

"Nova!" Alexae dashed towards her goddess and surprisingly hugged her. "I thought you left me alone." She murmured.

The goddess half smiled and hugged her back. "I wouldn't let you leave. That would mean all my hard work was for nothing. Plus, you didn't get to say goodbye."

Nova pushed open the door and waved someone in. Alexae eyed the door, seeing a platinum blonde woman with milky skin hold out her arm to the entrance as a way of showing someone in, and then she saw it.

She saw _them_.

"Host Club, meet the real Nanako."

Eight pairs of eyes stared at her form and she suddenly felt embarrassed. The only person she had explained her situation to was Kaoru. She never got around to telling the others because everything had been so hectic…

She awkwardly waved. "Hey…"

The room filled with silence as they stared at one another.

Kaoru walked towards her and stopped a foot away.

"Alexae…" He said slowly, struggling to pronounce her name.

She half smiled. "Kaoru."

His arm wrapped around her body lovingly. They stood still for five seconds before their hug turned into a giant group hug.

"Guys, I can't breathe!" Came a squeaky voice from the middle of the small crowd of people. The Host Club members let go immediately and allowed their maid to breathe.

"This is all very touching, but I've already made my decision." Seren's icy voice came from the opposite end of the room. "You weren't here when I called for appeals, therefore—"

" _Actually,_ "

The blonde from outside spoke up from the doorway.

"They were all in the building before you started, but security wouldn't let them through."

"Yeah! What Celine said!" Nova egged on.

Seren wasn't pleased.

"She brought them all the way here. You might as well listen to their appeals."

The room stared at the yellow-eyed woman. Suddenly, she sighed and walked to her seat. "Very well." She waved her hand towards the podium where Alexae was standing earlier. "If you all can give me reasons why I should let Alexae stay, then I shall consider it."

One by one, the host stepped up to the podium and gave their reasons.

"Nana-chan is amazing! She's always been nice and encouraged me… and she even gave Usa-chan a bath!"

"Nanako has always put up with whatever the Host Club throws at her. She's rarely complained about costumes, and while she can be fairly scary, she holds the spot of Mommy, and we all appreciate her for everything she does for us."

"She's helped with financial decisions on occasion, so I haven't an issue with her."

"She's considerate. And we're friends."

"I didn't like her that much when Kaoru started spending a lot of time with her… I really didn't like it when she'd hit me or yell at me… but she's not that bad. Plus, Kaoru wouldn't be the same without her."

"She worked with me to pay off the debt instead of paying her half and leaving me alone."

"Nanako means the world to me. This may all just be pretend but… I've never once _not_ appreciated anything she did for me or the club. She's done so many little things that it's hard to keep track of, but she works very hard and we wouldn't be as functional without her presence."

Seren tapped her fingers on the table quickly. Her eyes shifted to the last member of the group and smiled.

She could be the girl's undoing.

"Why don't you step up and speak, girl?"

Arisa clenched her fist and did as she was told.

"It seems like everyone has changed for the better because of Nanako dearest… but what about you? Would your life be better had you not met Nanako? After all, if you never met her, you wouldn't have to deal with the pain of someone you like never being able to like you back."

Alexae stared at Arisa as she began to fidget nervously.

"What?"

Arisa sighed.

"When you love someone, you have to be able to let them go." After saying that, Arisa looked at Alexae and smiled. "I'm in love with you. Er… _was_." She laughed nervously. "I'm not going to ruin your chances with us at Ouran because I wanted to be selfish… That's stupid." Arisa looked Seren directly in the eyes. "You have to be willing to make sacrifices for the ones you love."

The room grew tense.

Then, after a nerve-wracking silence, Seren spoke.

"Fine. You may stay."

The room erupted in cheers.

"There's one condition, however."

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

"Kaoru!"

He barely had time to turn around before her body collided with his own. "Hey, Nana."

Nanako's eyes beamed up at him. "How has everything been without me? You didn't burn down the house, did you?"

He laughed. "You would kill me if I did."

"That's absolutely correct."

Kaoru grabbed the handle of her suitcase and took her free hand in his. "How was your trip?"

"It went really well! I enjoyed it a lot. It was always sunny and I went to the beach… although the air quality was a little different. Did you know there's this haze over it? I think it's smog."

"Your hair looks great."

She giggled. "You think so?" She pulled at her bangs. "I wasn't really sure about the bangs, but they're kind of growing on me… and I got the color done as a kind of tribute to myself, you know?"

Her hair had been dyed dark brown and cut below her shoulders.

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

The two found themselves seated on the terrace looking out over the city.

That fateful day had occurred around four years ago. Seren's words still hung over their heads, but the two decided it would be better to make every day count rather than live in fear that they'll wake up and everything they've created will be gone.

Kaoru's eyes slid over to Nanako's relaxed figure.

"I can feel you staring at me, you know…" She tilted her head so she was looking directly at him, rather than out of the corner of her eye.

She was smiling.

Kaoru smiled back at her. "I know."

"What are you thinking about this time?"

He knew what he was thinking. He had been thinking the same thing since their third year of high school. There was always something that stopped him, though.

The timing never seemed right until this moment.

He held out his right hand and waited until she rested her left in his. Casually, he slipped the ring onto her finger and waited.

Her dark eyes looked at the ring and then up at him.

"I know you would've hit me if I did it in public, so I figured I would wait until it felt right… It's like our first kiss, except you're not eating ice cream and we're not at your house"

"And you're not fighting with Hikaru."

"Not yet anyway. Although he might have a few things to say about getting another sister."

They laughed.

"I love you." Kaoru turned his body to face her directly, holding her fingers tightly in his own. "I love you as Nanako, as Alexae, as _whoever—_ I love _you._ I want to make the best of whatever time we have left together, and I'm sorry for making you wait so long and—"

Nanako quickly silenced him with a kiss.

"I love you, too, Kaoru. It's okay that you waited because that gave us more time to get to know each other—to grow our garden of romance, I guess… and it's so lush with life that there's no way we're going to forget about each other." She rested her forehead on his shoulder. "I couldn't imagine living in a world without you."

Kaoru wrapped his arms around her.

They sat peacefully for several minutes.

Nanako stared into his eyes with a smile.

"Let's get married."

* * *

/-\/-\/-\/-\

* * *

Nanako's eyes suddenly opened.

Her stomach was churning violently. Slapping her hand over her mouth, she rushed towards the bathroom as quickly as she could so she wouldn't ruin the floor with vomit.

Her throat burned. She flushed the toilet and proceeded to brush her teeth to get the taste out of her mouth.

When she was finished, she gazed into the mirror. Her hair was messy and the dark circles under her eyes indicated how little sleep she'd gotten in the last few nights.

"Next time I won't go out for late night sushi with Mei and Izumi…" She turned off the light and staggered back to her room.

Morning came before she could fall back to sleep, so she threw the covers off her body and shuffled over to her closet a full thirty minutes before her alarm was scheduled to go off.

Donning the yellow dress that she was never very fond of, she ran a brush through her hair and pulled on her stockings. She ate a simple breakfast, read her novel, and was driven to school on time.

She entered the classroom ten minutes before homeroom would start. Sitting in her designated seat, she pulls out her book and begins to read again. When homeroom began, she watched uninterestedly at the back of one of the Hitachiin twin's heads. She could never tell which twin was which, and she never bothered to visit that frivolous club they were involved in—the Host Club, she recalled. Entertaining gossiping girls was the only thing it was good for—it kept even the nastiest ones away from pushing her over the edge.

The day went quickly. She put her mathematics in her bag—reminding herself to work through the homework she forgot to do the previous day. From the direction of the doorway, she heard laughter.

Her eyes glanced up to see the twins speaking to a few of her fellow classmates. Shockingly, one of the twins looked in her direction, and a strange feeling passed over their bodies.

They stared at each other for mere seconds, but it felt like minutes to them. It was a familiar feeling—like they had known each other before… but something felt like it was missing. Something important was screaming at the back of their heads, but they couldn't hear what it was saying.

They looked away.

He went to the Host Club.

She went home.

In his pocket, he fiddled with a necklace he discovered under his pillow when he woke up that morning. He felt oddly attached to it.

She dropped her bag on her bed and walked over to her vanity. In the center, pressed right up against the mirror was a small glossy white and pink music box. She opened it to see a small panda in a pink tutu begin to spin to a light, airy tune.

There was a ring inside.

* * *

 _If you stay in the verse, you're only allowed to live freely until the next person comes. When they do, the world gets reset and you become a background character. You won't remember anything._

* * *

 **I think most of my ends are tied up neatly, although there are a few things open, just in case I want to come back and start a new story with those characters... I make no guarantees, though. It's a nice thought, but inspiration is hard to come by.**

 **Thank you for all of your support! It's been a long journey for me, as well as you guys, and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I did.** **I hope to see you again soon, no matter what category I may write for.**

 **Happy writing!**


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